Seven and Counting
by TehSammichMan
Summary: It was all so simple before she found me. It wasn't perfect; there were bumps and bruises, wins and losses, the death of a comrade and the birth of a new one, but at least I was human. The trainer, instead of the trained. Blissfully ignorant and naïve. I'd always assumed defeating the final Gym would open a new chapter in my life, though certainly not in the manner it came to be.
1. Prologue - Gone

**Welcome one, welcome all, to my first story on the site! I don't wanna hold you up from getting started, so I'll just go out and say that because this is my first story, I'm an overall inexperienced writer. This is the first work I've ever made that exceeds 15,000 words, let alone shared with others. As a result, I would be absolutely overjoyed with criticism, whether it be positive or negative (as long as it's constructive)!**

 **Anyways, that little blurb being said, I'd like to give a huge thanks to ShadowCreeper5, who has been reading through my story pre-release to provide much-needed criticism and reception. Go ahead and check out their story, "Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rebirth," on his account. It's an amazingly great read with deplorable popularity by comparison!**

 **This chapter, just like all the other chapters in this story, were written a while in advance, and I will only start posting once I determine I have a considerable buffer for editing/changing story in unuploaded chapters. When necessary, I'm going to go ahead and give a status update for what's ahead writing-wise, but these will be few and far between.**

 **NOTE: I've changed the first chapter to a Prologue, as I wished, in my most recent revamping of the first few chapters, to begin the** _ **official**_ **story with the beginning of the next. However, the following events still provide some important characterization and introduction I wished to keep.**

 **Without further ado, I'll go ahead and end this little note, and get started with the story!**

* * *

 **Prologue: Gone**

* * *

"You ready?"

I closed my eyes as the question was proposed. My knees felt weak at the prospect. There was no backing out now, no retreat back to the safety of my room, and most definitely no way I would let myself chicken out again.

"Yeah…" I confirmed, unable to hide the quiver in my voice, "Let's do this…"

Drayden nodded silently, towering above me by at least a foot. He held out his large hand, a gesture I returned by grasping and shaking it.

"This will be a four-on-four battle," he began shortly afterwards, "I myself am not allowed to switch, though as challenger, you may do as you please. No items are permitted. The referee will call all knockouts, and penalties are in order should a rule or battle clause be broken. Understand?"

I nodded, swallowing. "Heard it a billion times before."

"I'm sure. It's not everyday the Eighth Gym receives a serious challenger."

"Thanks, I guess."

I couldn't help but avert my eyes towards the few people on the sidelines of the battle. I'd specifically requested a closed match due to the nature of my nerves, but I probably should've looked closer at the waivers I signed before entering. The glare from at least a dozen cameras in the otherwise dark room only put more weight on my shoulders. Was this being broadcast live?

Drayden nodded. "Best of luck to you, then."

Choosing to ignore the spectators further, I turned away from him as he did the same. Trying not to shake further with nerves, I clumsily walked to my side of the field, seemingly miles away. I struggled fruitlessly to calm my breathing as I focused on taking one step after the other.

I was scared, to be perfectly honest. Was I making a fool of myself? I had little to no strategy to speak of, for Drayden would surely see through most anything plausible I could patch together. The abruptness of the decision to actually challenge this Gym only a few days after arriving in Opelucid was hardly helping.

Present, however, was a faint sense of optimism. The fruit of my labors! My team and I had been dreaming of being Eight-Badgers for years! However, I never thought the prospect would be so terrifying. What was to come after this? Had we trained enough? Was I going to hurl halfway through? This was by leaps and bounds the most important encounter I'd had in my years as a trainer.

I didn't think we were ready. I was ready to procrastinate and stall for as long as possible before even trying to challenge Drayden, but I couldn't resist the unanimous push from my teammates to at least try.

While I myself had been reluctant to step through the Gym's doors, they seemed to adamantly believe we were ready. Who was I to deny them if this was what they wanted? Their trainer? Hardly. I'd long since lost any illusions of authority I may have had over my team years prior.

 _They_ were the superpowered beasts that won all our matches and raised me to where I was today. I was just the goon that yelled commands from the sideline, enjoying the fruits of their labor. And yet, they knew how important this was to me, even if I had hoped to emulate the opposite.

* * *

"Tell me right now you're absolutely positive you want to do this. It's a whole month if we lose."

" _Yeah, a whole month more to train and be ready. This is everything we've worked towards for six years, Ray. Six years. You'd keep that from us just because you 'don't know'?_ "

"Of course not… I just don't know why you guys are so enthusiastic about it. It's a piece of metal I pin to a case and never take out of my bag. A title I get to put in front of _my_ name. How is that worth it for you?"

* * *

I'd never received a straight answer.

I swiveled back around to face Drayden as I stopped on my side of the battlefield. Mimicking his movements, I unclipped a single Pokéball from off my belt and enlarged it in my hand. My hands twitched around the button, as if I was sharing the excited-yet-nervous energy of the being inside.

All was silent. The room was held in a dramatic sort of suspense, weighing down like iron.

"Throw!" the referee called from his post high above the field, prompting me to gulp once more in anticipation. Forcing confidence, however, I called out for all to hear.

"Let's do it, Axle!"

I pressed the button on the device and tossed it as high as I could. From it came a blinding white light, escaping from its captivity in the ball and rushing forwards to the ground like a fluid. It gathered in one area, seemingly solidifying and building until it it settled into the shape of Axle, a Swampert. His blue skin gleaned under the harsh stadium lights, a fresh coat of moisturizer having been applied the afternoon before the fight.

He looked at me out of the corner of his eye with much of the same worry I held myself. Attempting to be a compass, however, I nodded ahead towards his opponent, mouthing, 'you got this' to reassure him.

I gathered afterwards that I failed miserably in my efforts, as Axle sent me an even more anticipatory glance. I shrugged, unable to think of anything else. Was he expecting a rousing speech?

Drayden had since sent out his own Pokémon, an Altaria. The dragon leaped off the ground and caught the air beneath its cloud-like wings, proceeding to meander through the air as it waited for a command. The stage was set.

"Drayden's Altaria versus Alston's Swampert… Commence!"

I felt adrenaline nagging at me to strike first. Biting my lip, I tentatively called out my first attack.

The two Pokémon exchanged hard hits for quite a while. With the niche of possessing a rock type arsenal, however, Axle obviously had the advantage, and was able to steadily push the Altaria back.

We followed our simple strategy thereafter to the best of our ability: back the dragon into a corner with Muddy Water, where it couldn't fly away, before pummeling it with Rock Slide after Rock Slide. As the battle progressed, Axle's attempts to do so became more coordinated, but more easily predictable.

The plan worked beautifully at first, and Axle had even managed to make a few hits with the super-effective boulders. It seemed, however, despite the fact I could hardly see the dragon, it was able to maneuver impossibly quick for a creature its size. Our first folly came as I got comfortable with our advantageous position.

It seemed to finally catch on, succeeding in firing a Dragon Pulse _through_ the opaque tidal wave used to entrap it and hitting Axle directly. As he lost concentration, the barrier and all subsequent attacks disintegrated.

"Roll left!" I shouted as the weakened Altaria came on the offensive. Axle complied, only catching the aftershock of a Moonblast hitting the exact spot he was in prior.

The two Pokémon stood in a standoff for quite a while. I tried making another strategy, as it was fairly obvious the previous one wouldn't work well if tried again.

"Let's try Muddy Dirt, Axle," I said, indicating a strategy that'd been previously established between us. "Improvise a little at the end, it's still a flying type."

The dragon had since started moving about rhythmically in the air, forming a blue aura around itself. I clicked my tongue, recognizing the Dragon Dance.

"Hurry," I said, this time much more loudly. Axle began the strategy, nothing more than a few, simple moves strung together.

He started with a Rock Slide to distract it and a Muddy Water as further diversion. I noticed the Altaria couldn't help but be hit a few times with boulders, not to mention being clipped by the top of the Muddy Water tsunami as it passed.

When it turned to Axle to retaliate, however, it noticed he was gone. It took a few seconds for it to realize where he'd escaped. By then, it was too late to dodge.

Axle burst from the ground in a shower of wet dirt, shot upwards towards the dragon like a rocket, and knocked it out of the sky with Return. It squawked as it hit the ground.

The Swampert refused to relent. A devastating combo of Rock Tomb and Rock Slide led to its inevitable entrapment under an impressive amount of boulders. Somehow, it was still conscious.

"Stone Edge will finish it!" I revealed, letting some of the excitement leak into my voice, "Knock it out now!"

"Altaria, Sing."

I looked up with wide eyes towards Drayden. The old man was looking on the scene with indifference.

I hardly had time to register what he'd commanded as the notes began to fill the air. I'd long since learned the move wouldn't affect me if the user didn't intend it to, so I was forced to watch as everything fell apart.

Axle had since reared up on his hind legs to execute the move. However, as the song progressed, he began to wobble. He slammed down on the ground as hard as possible in order to execute Stone Edge, but it proved useless. He slumped to the floor moments afterwards, asleep.

As I let my hands go lax and fall from my face as the song receded, I felt something begin to stir inside me. Grimacing, I let air hiss through my teeth with a silent curse.

"Swampert is temporarily unable to battle," the referee declared uselessly from his stand. "Drayden has invoked the Sleep Clause, rendering him unable to put another opponent to sleep for the remainder of the battle. Challenger, send out your next Pokémon."

 _As if I didn't know already. Thanks a ton._

"Cheap move on my part, I'll give you that…" Drayden began, "But I hope you didn't expect me to lay down and die, correct?"

I chortled as I returned Axle. "I guess not… Of course, if using Sing gets you results… It's just…"

"A perk of being the final Gym in the circuit means I'm able to make an effort in my battles. Not my hardest, not my most lenient, but know I've been training with my team for decades before you held your first Pokéball…"

"Why don't you just sweep the floor with me then?"

Drayden laughed. "The Gym Challenge is meant to be a difficult, not impossible task. Enjoyable. Competitively fun. The Elite Four and the Champion are a different story, the real deal. Best to look there if you want a real challenge."

"Doesn't that just mean you've already decided whether or not you'll let me win?"

"The million dollar question."

 _Cocky, isn't he… Maybe it's just for the cameras, who knows? Brycen acts like this too, and his battles are televised sometimes._

"Send out your next Pokémon. The Battle isn't over just yet."

Axle was incapacitated, sure, but not yet declared unfit to battle by league standards… He'd hopefully wake up soon enough to be used later in the battle.

Knowing this, I felt uncomfortable sending out perhaps my greatest advantage in this fight, the only Pokémon on my team to resist Dragon Type moves. If I could send him out quickly to take out what fraction of stamina the Altaria still held onto, however, maybe it would be for the best.

Subtly biting my upper lip, I caressed the fifth Pokéball on my belt before detaching and enlarging it.

Without words, I released Victor, a Durant, in a flash of bright light.

Upon being released, he crouched and put on a war face, crunching his mandibles with great force. I noticed, however, the small twitches and shivers he couldn't help but show. I appreciated the attempted intimidation tactic, but I knew his nerves were high, this being his first Gym Battle.

"It's weak, Vic," I called out. "Axle fell asleep, so we'll be put in the lead when you take out this Altaria. No big deal."

He affirmed he'd heard what I said by crouching even lower to intimidate his foe. I'd at least helped in instilling a small bit of courage.

The Durant didn't have the skill or experience to match up against his teammates, certainly, but despite his generally jolly nature, he had the heart of a warrior. I doubted he would let himself fail.

"Drayden's Altaria versus Alston's Durant… Commence!"

Drayden decided to take initiative this time around, ordering a Dragon Pulse from his Altaria. Within a matter of moments, the blue-tinted projectile was hurtling across the field.

"Sidestep right!" I commanded in response.

Victor did just that, hopping swiftly out of the way. What would have been an otherwise ineffective projectile fizzled out before it could reach me.

"Get as close to it as possible! Dodging is first priority!"

As Drayden ordered yet another attack off, Victor leaped quite some distance in the air before reconnecting and splitting open the earth below him. He fell in the crevasse as the Altaria's attack sailed overhead.

All became silent. I tried looking for clues as to where the Durant would resurface but found none. At the very least, we'd spoken about strategy while training in the past, and he hopefully knew what to do without my command.

The Altaria was on high alert, but refused to panic. Instead, it held completely still, hoping to notice the slightest and most subtle movements of the ground.

Subtlety was not Victor's style, however. Without even a moment's notice, the ground erupted as if something had crashed into it. There, directly to the left of the Altaria, a brilliant silver shine told me Victor already had an attack ready. Iron Head, by the looks of it.

Drayden seemed to be prepared, however and spoke a command before Victor could even make contact.

"Fire Blast."

Point blank range. A double weakness to fire. Oh gods, of course his Altaria had Fire Blast! Sure, it was a Hoenn-native Pokémon and I wasn't entirely familiar with the species, but nearly every dragon in existence got some sort of fire coverage! My eyes widened as the attack took no time at all to charge and release, prompting a short, interrupted squeal of surprise from Victor.

I shut my eyes tight, unwilling to see what followed.

 _You never thought to look it up?! Arceus, I'm an idiot!_

I felt like hitting myself over the head with something hard for not thinking of such a potential fiasco. I'd sent Victor into a slaughter. His first Gym Battle, a slaughter!

Struggling to compose myself, I acted like the whole scenario hardly fazed me as I brought down my hand from my face. Silently, I grabbed Victor's Pokéball and unwillingly looked up towards the battlefield.

Victor was unconscious, as expected… But so was the Altaria. I froze for a moment as the gears turned in my head. What happened?

"Both Durant and Altaria are unable to battle. Tie game at three to three!" the referee affirmed. I looked at him with an eyebrow raised, as if the results he gave were a joke.

It took Drayden's voice to make the puzzle pieces fit. "It seems your Durant somehow outlasted the damage caused long enough to take my Altaria down with it. Surprising, I'll give you that."

"I-I… Victor…"

"Do you wish to continue? I'd understand if you'd like to stop now."

"Y-yeah, of course I want to keep going…It's just…"

 _He did it? How?! There's no way he wouldn't have been KO'ed instantly!_

Drayden progressed the battle without me, releasing yet another dragon onto the field. This time, it was a Druddigon. It smirked devilishly upon seeing me.

Fumbling, I quickly returned Victor and gripped his Pokéball roughly for a moment. Pride creeped into my facial expressions, though I meant to keep it hidden. He'd done it.

"Ok… We're still in this," I whispered to myself.

I let my hands run over the second ball on my belt for a moment before I shook my head. Instead, I felt and grasped the fourth ball. I wanted the aerial advantage to stay ahead of the game.

Silently, I released my third battler, a Braviary, onto the field.

"Good to go, Jet?" I asked as the white light faded. I could have sworn I saw the slightest of glimmers in his eyes that gave me all the answers I needed. Despite being his first Gym Battle as well, his confidence and courage was true and displayed more than publicly.

He adjusted himself by pacing in place for a moment before the referee started the battle.

"Drayden's Druddigon versus Alston's Braviary. Begin!"

Before I could even shout out a command, the Braviary was off like a rocket, pushing his newly evolved body to the absolute fullest. I could hardly even blink before he was mere feet in front of the Druddigon, firing off multiple attacks at once.

Using Air Slash as cover, he would dive in and use Crush Claw or Aerial Ace with amazing speed. His haste proved to be detrimental, however, as the attacks were lacking power or force. The opposing dragon simply held up its arms to its face.

I narrowed my eyes when I saw a slight shift in the Druddigon movement. Fearing retaliation, I ordered Jet to fall back.

Thankfully, he listened, pushing away with his powerful wings and driving the Druddigon back. Simultaneously, Drayden had ordered an Iron Tail. Jet had just fallen out of reach.

"Get over here, Jet," I commanded, breathing a slight sigh of relief.

As the Braviary approached, still facing the Druddigon, I let my mind scroll through potential strategies.

"Ok… No more blind attacking. We need calculated and strategic hits, and that thing is tanky as hell. I know you're excited, but calm down, alright? Don't try to be a hero."

He landed on the ground before looking at me out of the corner of his eye, obviously miffed.

 _Stomp stomp stomp_.

Both Jet's and my head turned towards the sound of banging. The Druddigon was now charging, its fist glowing a faint orange.

"Okay, Tailwind… Then fake right and go left with Crush Claw. Make sure it stings. If you can go for a Superpower also, do it. Make sure you don't get hit."

Jet followed my directions to a tee, interrupting the Druddigon's charge with Tailwind before taking off and diving for its torso.

He was able to get the Crush Claw off without a hitch, but had to abandon the Superpower as the dragon spun quickly, hoping to knock Jet out of the sky with Dragon Tail.

As he dodged, he was left completely vulnerable to a follow-up attack. The Druddigon hardly had to make an effort in order to clamp its jaws, now ablaze, around the Braviary.

Instead of simply letting go after the Fire Fang, however, the Druddigon reared up and slammed Jet into the ground.

"Between its legs!" I screamed as the dragon lifted its foot to stomp on the Braviary. Scrambling, Jet escaped through the new gap.

Instead of ensuring his safety, however, Jet proceeded to initiate both a Wing Attack and a Superpower once he came up behind the dragon.

He was left completely open to a subsequent Iron Tail, launching him across the field and back towards me.

"The hell did I say about using attacks haphazardly?! This Druddigon has five times the experience you do, Jet, and it's going easy on you! Chill out and make a plan!"

Getting back to his feet was a task in itself, but I could see the remorse in his eyes as he flinched. His right foot was completely unusable, and as a result, he solely stood on his left.

"You alright?" I asked shortly after. He looked at me and nodded.

I looked over to where the Druddigon was standing, and for whatever reason, not charging again. It was breathing heavily.

"Okay, you're not the only one to have taken damage," I assessed back to Jet. "It's probably just a few more hits away. Hone Claws."

Noticing Jet was preparing to boost his physical power, the Druddigon took off again, bounding across the field in giant leaps.

What followed was an exchange much like the last. Jet weaved in openings, and thankfully only firing off attacks when he was completely open to do so. Mainly, he made sure to steer clear of the Druddigon's mouth and tail.

Drayden kept up with it all, much to my amazement. I had let Jet take complete control during this exchange due to the fact I would only hold him back. Drayden, quite the opposite, directed his Druddigon through each and every movement as if the whole scenario had been rehearsed. Every sidestep and turn, every missed lash or bite.

Jet was by no means an expert flyer. He'd only evolved quite recently, and due to the lack of flight experience with wings as long and powerful as the ones he now used, mistakes were abound. I'd tried to reason with him before the battle, though he insisted he had trained nonstop in flight since evolution. He wouldn't take no for an answer.

A single stumble was all it took for the Druddigon to land a gnarly Revenge.

Jet was slammed straight into the ground beneath, and I swore I could've heard a sickening crunch.

Despite it all, however, he was still conscious. He coughed and sputtered after the breath was knocked out of him.

Enough was enough. I unlatched Jet's Pokéball and held it up silently.

He stared at me with a mask of betrayal. I mouthed the words 'I'm sorry'.

He would have none of it. He kicked off the ground from where he was and straight back towards the Druddigon. It let out a grunt of surprise in response.

Jet, to the best of his ability, darted around the beast and got a single talon around one of the dragon's legs. He then began to flap his wings.

 _Sky Drop?_

He lifted the behemoth off the ground and began slowly ascending, cringing with every single painful thrust of his exhausted wings.

The Druddigon, after getting over its shock, smacked its tail into Jet's backside. The Braviary remained unfazed as he simply reached out with his other foot as grasped the dangerous appendage firmly.

The Druddigon was left defenseless as it rose higher and higher. Jet even did as much as to peck it on the head every so often to keep it in check.

He'd made it to maybe forty feet off the ground when he suddenly let go, allowing the dragon to be taken by gravity. As a final, parting gift, Jet spun in the air, firing off two Air Slashes that hit the dragon on the way down.

It crashed with a groan, giving itself up into unconsciousness.

"Druddigon is unable to battle! Braviary wins the round! Alston leads three two."

I let out a laugh of sorts, more astonished than anything. I then shot a nervous smile at the Braviary as he returned.

"Gods, Jet, there's no point in getting hurt for it… I already told you all, I'm the only one getting any benefit out of this."

He sent me a stupid look. What I said wasn't entirely the truth, and he caught onto it immediately. Jet's egg was a gift after my many, many attempts at beating the sixth Gym. He was literally bred from two Pokémon who fought daily on one of the most successful teams in the world. Of course he would be more inclined to care about these fights.

"Good job though… You did good," I added on as a consolation. Deep down, I was proud that he was able to show off the personal care he'd put into this. His constant strive to be the best was simply innate, I supposed. He did good about not letting his ambition consume him, even if he was stubborn beyond belief.

He turned back around as Drayden sent out his next Pokémon, a Flygon. It stood on the ground, staring at us curiously.

I, once again, held up Jet's ball to retrieve him. He glared at me.

"No way. Somin's completely fresh, and probably'll be able to take this thing out easily. You did your job, Jet."

He narrowed his gaze even further.

 _You need Somin for the Haxorus._

Though I couldn't hear Jet, that glance was all I needed to know what he was trying to convey. I rubbed the bridge of my nose frustratedly. "Don't tell anyone I'm a bad trainer because you get yourself beat up all the time."

He sent me an odd look, turning back around as if to ignore my further protests.

"Just… If you're gonna go through with this, just try to stall for as much time as possible so we can get Axle up and ready to go. I meant it this time. Conservative hits. Only attack if you are 1000% sure you can get it without drawing a counter."

The referee was staring at me, waiting for a decision.

"Jet's stayin' in," I called up. He nodded.

"Braviary versus Flygon… Begin!"

Drayden nodded in respect for a moment at me as his dragon took flight. The rapidness of its bug-like wings kicked up dust and debris. It quickly became invisible, obscured completely by the sandstorm.

"Tch… Jet, Tailwind and Air Slash. Blow that cloud away."

He did as commanded, revealing nothing as the dust cleared. The Flygon was missing.

"Dodge right!"

Jet did just that, jumping away from the Flygon just as it emerged from under the earth. It followed up with a late Rock Tomb, just grazing the Braviary.

"Stay away from it!"

Jet tried getting off the ground to fly, but gave up after a few seconds. He'd sustained too much damage.

The Flygon dove back into the ground.

"Damn, it's too fast. Get a Superpower ready and wait to release it. It's just too quick to get away from, even if you were able to fly. When it resurfaces, you give it everything you have, got it? Everything that's left in the tank, even if it means you can't move, because this attack is sure as hell knocking you out regardless."

Jet nodded, bringing the tips of his wings together. He began glowing a faint orange.

I was watching the ground intently for any sign of movement. I acted upon the slightest shift possibly detectable.

"Six!"

Jet obeyed, spinning fully around before lighting up the ground with his charged Superpower before the Flygon had a chance to break totally free. It did eventually emerge, seemingly unfazed, spinning into the Braviary with an arm stretched out.

It caught its breath as the telltale royal blue tint of a Dragon Claw subsided. Jet wobbled for a moment before falling forward, the power behind the last attack leaving him too weak to stand.

The referee called out the results as I withdrew the exhausted Braviary. Rolling my eyes at the stupid courage of the Pokémon, I latched his ball back on my belt.

"Is your Braviary alright?" Drayden shouted from across the field.

"He's good. If I didn't know him any better, I'd say he's a complete masochist. Thrill of battle I guess, never gonna understand it."

"Two versus two in that case… You've done well so far."

"I'm getting this done, today… You'd better watch out, because I don't plan on waiting any more than I have to."

"Big words. Let's see if you can back it up."

I smirked and unlatched the second ball of my belt; an Ultra Ball. I held it up to my mouth for a moment and closed my eyes. Without picking up Drayden's attention, however, I spoke a single word to the device before pressing the button and unleashing my best battler.

A Steelix, and quite a menacing one at that. Somin really outdid himself this time. His ability to intimidate a foe was astounding. The Flygon, even with the type advantage, flinched for a moment.

"Iron Tail! Knock it out of the sky!"

Somin uncoiled and sprang forth at astonishing speed, headed straight for the airborne dragon. The Steelix leaped off the ground in a violent spin akin to the moving blades of a helicopter.

Panicking, the Flygon ignored its trainer's command to use Rock Slide to protect itself and instead dove underground. Somin sailed over the Flygon and dug the end of his tail into the ground to halt his momentum.

"Earthquake!"

Wasting no time, Somin twisted each of his body segments in preparation before slamming into the ground. A shockwave ensued, the apparent force enough to disorient even me.

The Flygon emerged slowly on the other side of the battlefield, obviously weakened.

"Ice Fang, Somin!"

"Earthquake, stop it in its tracks," Drayden countered, remaining cool and collected. His Flygon shot its trainer a quick glance before refacing the Steelix.

Somin sprang forth once again, using his many body segments to effectively push and pull dirt to move him forward even quicker.

The Flygon got its Earthquake off before Somin could reach it, resulting in a slight flinch. The Steelix powered through, however, grasped the Flygon in his mouth with a double-effective move, and slammed it into the ground. The ref didn't even wait for the smoke to clear before calling the round.

"Flygon is unable to battle! Steelix wins the round!"

"Come on back, Somin," I followed up the referee without any hesitation, returning the Steelix to his Ultra Ball. The plan had gone off without a hitch thus far. Somin had certainly made an impressive display.

I figured Axle had enough time to recover after the Altaria's song, meaning he would be the most logical option to start the battle against Drayden's final dragon. I'd rather play safe with Somin. He did his best in short bursts of energy rather than in a test of endurance.

Axle was drowsy, as expected, stumbling around every so often after he was sent out. The Swampert made a concerted effort to nod, however when I asked him if he was alright to battle.

Drayden had since silently released his Haxorus. From the rumors I'd heard, the Pokémon was infamous for being an unmatched battler. Something told me Drayden's earlier statement regarding 'going easy on me' was truthful, and I was quietly thankful for it. If the league had structured the rules of battle to revolve more around a Pokémon's individual strength instead of the human trainers behind them, I would be much more terrified at the sight of this dragon.

"Swampert versus Haxorus… Alston leads two to one. Begin!"

"Dragon Dance."

I clenched my teeth. "Axle, we don't want to let this thing set—"

It had somehow already finished in a time faster than any I'd ever seen, a teal blue haze now surrounding the menacing dragon to aid in its power and agility.

"Uhhh…"

 _What in Arceus' name? That's insane!_

"Dragon Claw."

"S-stone Edge! Make a ring around you and stop it!"

The Haxorus was nearly too quick to see as it was now. In my eyes, it simply seemed to disappear and reappear, now falling towards Axle's position after jumping far over the halo of jagged stalagmites.

"Rock Tomb, seven up!"

Axle prepared and fired the attack while spinning to his left without thought, nearly missing the Haxorus in his haste. The attack did its intended duty, however, knocking away a portion of the dragon's boosted aura.

Axle, too slow to get out of the way, was left vulnerable to an onslaught of attacks. Because of the Stone Edge ring, he was unable to escape.

He took hit after hit, just a bit too slow to return them effectively.

"Mud Bomb in the air. Hang in there just a little more!"

Grunting in the effort it took to stay conscious, Axle raised his maw towards the sky, conjured the commanded projectile of mud, and fired it.

Maybe just two or three hits away from being knocked out, the projectile lost momentum and fell back down, landing in the arena where the Haxorus was dominating. If anything, the Mud Bomb caused the Haxorus to lose its footing for a moment.

"Scald!"

Before the dragon could regain its bearings, it was being blasted by a jet of searing water, pushing it back ever so slightly. Axle didn't relent, keeping up the stream for as long as he possibly could.

The dragon eventually ducked out of the stream and began running alongside it, towards Axle. Before the Swampert could readjust, the dragon was upon him, delivering the final few blows to knock him unconscious. He slunk to the floor as the stalagmites around them both receded.

I could see the Haxorus cringe for just a moment before it inspected a red spot on its left flank. I wanted to leap for joy, considering Axle's Scald had landed the desired burn. The dragon's power would fall sharply as a result.

"Great job buddy," I congratulated him quietly as I returned him and the referee called out the results. The Swampert had been instrumental in securing a win, having assisted greatly in weakening two of Drayden's more experienced dragons. Though he picked up no KOs of his own, his contributions were vital.

The Haxorus was now burned and slowed. The effects of its prior Dragon Dance were now moot.

Drayden himself congratulated me. "Impressive. Leveling the playing field when you're at the obvious disadvantage in experience. The battle's still not over, however."

 _It will be soon._

I was correct, at least in that regard.

I, once again, detached Somin's Ultra Ball from my belt. Closing my eyes, I released him onto the field.

"Each trainer is at one Pokémon each. The final round is between Haxorus and Steelix. Begin!"

"Let's get this done quick. Crunch to hold it in place and Iron Tail for damage. Don't let it reach you any more than it has to."

Despite his bulky appearance, I knew of Somin's defenses, or lack thereof. Even weakened by a few attacks and a burn, I doubted he would be able to take many hits from the Haxorus.

Somin just barely missed his first Crunch as the Haxorus hopped aside. In retaliation, the dragon lunged forward and began to latch onto segments of the Steelix with Shadow Claw.

 _No no no… Somin can't take hits like this…_

"Get it off, Somin!" I yelled, desperate. The Steelix shook violently to no avail.

He then tried using Iron Tail to swat the dragon off. After a failed few attempts, he finally met his mark. The Steelix followed up by slamming full-force into the dragon as soon as it was off, sending it all the way to my side of the field.

And yet, I celebrated far too soon.

The Haxorus was surely close to unconsciousness, though Somin was a different story. Violet fizzles of light, not unlike static on a television screen, jumped across the Steelix's body. Somin tried hard to make them stop, but eventually failed. He'd taken too many hits and simply didn't have the stamina.

I saw recognition light up across Drayden's face, meaning it was now time to take action.

"Drop it Somin! Save your energy for the end of the fight!"

After looking at me for a moment, the Steelix closed his eyes, purple sparks turning into a haze that engulfed him entirely. When it cleared, what was left behind was something much smaller and much more frail than a Steelix, though still my best fighter.

"Alston's Steelix has been revealed as a Zoroark! The battle is still on!"

Somin's Illusions were the most dangerous thing about him. Through years and years of meticulous practice, he'd mastered the art of disguising himself in battle much more than other Zoroark with his experience. He had mastered the ability of emulating what my commanded attacks _would_ feel like, if he was physically able to conjure them. This technique, however, took insane amounts of precision and a considerable toll on his energy stores.

"Dark Pulse, Somin. Finish it!"

The Zoroark, narrowing its eyes, leaped into the air and began in an all-four sprint towards the Haxorus. The dragon had since gotten back up.

Somin averted course as the Haxorus's arms lit up in a sickly green color, instead bouncing backing up to a safe distance. The dragon rushed towards the Zoroark with an X-Scissor ready.

Somin outstretched his arms, preparing and firing off a Dark Pulse just before the Haxorus made it. The dragon's attack still landed, although uncalculated.

Somin twisted his entire body, countering the attack with a roundhouse kick to its face; a Foul Play. He flinched ever so slightly as it landed, but powered through it.

He chained attack after attack, now seemingly desperate to finish the battle. Without his disguise, his greatest advantage, he had little left.

The Haxorus was kept at bay, energy slowly being drained by the combined effects of Somin's onslaught and its burn. It made yet another attempt at an X-Scissor, coming into contact with Somin's chest. The super effective move did little to deter the Zoroark.

After one more Dark Pulse to push the dragon back, Somin stood still, panting. Purple energy sparked to life in both of his claws, zipping and snaking around the surface as if it were electricity. He was getting ready to finish.

The Haxorus seemed to notice something just then, as if an apparition had appeared just behind the Zoroark. Tentatively, while Somin stood back and continued preparing his final attack, the dragon held up a claw to the side of its face and wiped a bit of the edge of the blade that lied there.

Whatever it saw didn't comfort it. It looked up to Somin just as the Zoroark became fully ready.

It spoke a few words in a sullen tone, words only itself and Somin could understand.

They seemed to anger Somin even further. Screaming with effort, he smashed his claws into the ground as a violet wave of malicious energy materialized and made its way towards the Haxorus. The dragon didn't even try to dodge the Night Daze as it connected and sent it flying, unconscious before it hit the ground.

The referee called the results within seconds, overwhelming me with joy. I pumped my fist in self-celebration before looking towards Somin.

His chest heaved, paws hanging heavily down by his sides. He looked at me and shot a smirk in my direction. I smiled back.

His eyes then rolled into the back of his head as he fell face-first into the dirt. My smile faded ever so slightly.

Simply thinking he was exhausted, I leisurely jogged onto the field, rummaging through my bag for a Potion.

Even without Illusions, he was able to prevail and defeat Drayden's strongest Pokémon, albeit weakened. Nonetheless, I was positively ecstatic. It was time to celebrate.

I basically collapsed on Somin myself in one, giant hug, all while he was still on the floor. He didn't respond whatsoever, not even with an indignant grunt.

It was then I became worried. His breathing was shallow, and it took me a few moments to make certain he was alive at all. He looked rough.

"You okay, bud?" I asked, shaking him. No response.

It was then I started noticing a liquid flowing into my jeans from where I kneeled. Gasping, I looked down.

"Somin?!" I urged, shaking the Zoroark even more. Blood was pooling into a progressively larger area around me, and I doubted it was a coincidence.

Panicked, I looked for the source. It didn't take long to find it, a long gash seemingly running up the length of his outer left leg, just below the knee.

"Somin! Oh gods!" I yelled, leaping over the Zoroark and kneeling at the site of the wound. I took my shirt off as fast as I possibly could before pressing it up against the Zoroark's leg.

"Holy shit holy shit holy shit," I muttered to myself, shaking my head. "SOMIN!"

No response.

My breathing became ladened as blood soaked through my shirt and spilled over my hands. Thinking quickly, I snatched his Ultra Ball from my belt and pressed the button to return him. All I heard was a dull click. I tried a few more times, desperate, but nothing happened.

Yelling, I threw it away in frustration. Somin's energy output probably wasn't enough for the Pokéball to recognize his signature. He'd fought too hard. It was useless!

"No! Come on buddy!"

I was scared to death. He was leaving. I could feel the tears start welling up.

"Someone get help!" I screamed, looking around. Both Drayden and the referee had disappeared. The cameras were still there, much to my chagrin. Yet, they were hardly my concern at the moment.

I thought for a moment, and silently thankful I hadn't used her in battle, I released my starter, Vita. The Serperior let out a happy noise at being outside. That was, until, she saw my face. My eyes were puffy and tears were now streaming violently down my cheeks. She turned, her expression now worried, towards Somin. When her eyes fell upon him, her demeanor changed entirely as she let out a surprised squeak.

She shifted her body to slither around the Zoroark's head, effectively propping it up slightly with her midsection as she brought her face towards the wound. She didn't even need my command as she started to use her Synthesis.

I leant in to assist the snake, spraying a Potion over the wound. My knees made a sloshing sound as they were further inundated in my friend's blood.

I solemnly noticed Somin's breaths were gradually more shallow as I continued to tend to the gash. Vita had done all she could with Synthesis, having already covered his left leg in a near-opaque covering of powder. She moved on to the rest of his body while I took off my undershirt and created a makeshift bandage for a portion of the wound. The other shirt was now useless to me.

The bleeding had slowed significantly thanks to the combined medical treatments. However, a gash this large wasn't that easily fixed, so I was stuck doing all I could to cover the entire area with my hands and some cloth.

How long had it been since he passed out? I wasn't quite sure. It seemed, at least for me, that time was simultaneously slowing down and speeding up, and the entire concept of the minutes flying by was lost on me. The only thing I had in order to tell the passing time was the weak breaths and heartbeat of my Pokémon.

I'd possibly even started hallucinating. My memories of the time were hazy, but a recurring hallucination of a dull pink glow somewhere inside the wound would not leave my mind. It was a friendly presence, relaxing even. It was helping.

Rushed footsteps resounded behind me, but I didn't care much, considering my thoughts were entirely focused on preserving the life Somin still had.

"Out of the way! Out of the way!" a feminine voice shouted from somewhere behind me, effectively bringing me back into real time. I turned to face the voice, not daring to move an inch from where I knelt. Running towards me was none other than the resident nurse of the Gym, a field med-kit and two Pokéballs on her person. Behind her stood Drayden, watching us with a worried eye. I didn't bother to give him notice, instead shifting my attention to the nurse, who had since grabbed one Pokéball and released its contents.

The light materialized into a pink creature with an egg in a pouch on its stomach, not unlike a Kangaskhan with a child in tow. The creature was oval-shaped, and came out of the ball wearing a white hat with a red cross depicted on it.

Reluctantly, I started moving away, making room for the nurse to help. I didn't want to have to leave Somin, especially now. Even if it might prove beneficial for him, my mind was now running on instinctive reaction rather than calculated thought.

When she arrived, the nurse took a moment to assess the damage before taking the spot next to me in an attempt to block the remaining area of the gash. She turned towards her Chansey, and nodded as it let off a Heal Pulse and a Soft Boiled.

The Nurse, using a free hand, opened her kit as she released her second Pokémon, a green, dinosaur-looking quadruped, sporting a blooming flower around its neck. The Meganium started to Synthesize alongside Vita, still snaked around Somin's limp body.

What the nurse was holding as she retreated from her kit made my heart sink into my stomach. I stared at her with wide eyes, pleading. She pushed for me to move, but I wasn't going anywhere. He needed me. He did. He needed me.

Did she really have to use the tourniquet?

She sighed in defeat, but instead of allowing me to help, she motioned her Meganium towards me. I didn't notice, though, having since fully turned my full attention back towards the Zoroark.

The saline dripping from my face mixed with Somin's blood, turning it a wispy pink color. I found my mind focused on that sight, and wasn't able to wrench myself from it. The pink of his blood mingled with the hallucination of that pink glow.

The Meganium had advanced on me, and started to gently nudge me away as the nurse began to wrap the bandage at the other end of the cut. I didn't budge, my mind still focused on the liquid, the color. Everything around me was shut out. All that was left in the world was Somin and I.

The Meganium looked back towards the nurse defeatedly. Closing her eyes in frustration, the nurse whispered a command to her Chansey.

The Pokémon approached me with a look of apprehension. I decided to ignore it as it politely tried pushing me away.

It sighed, reached out an arm, and laid it on my shoulder. I was quick to assume it was trying to comfort me, but I was promptly proven wrong.

A quick shock flowed through my body, causing my muscles to seize. In the next moment, my grip relaxed as I was no longer able to keep it up.

Everything from my neck down was completely and forcibly relaxed. I fell away, backside landing in a pool of blood.

I saw something right then, nothing more than a pink blur of motion in the ceiling. I hardly cared as I began screaming and grunting as I tried fighting the sudden paralysis.

A pair of large hands grabbed both of my wrists. Suddenly, I was being heaved up, eventually coming to rest slung over a shoulder.

Drayden began walking away, carrying me with him. I was in full view of the treatment of my dying friend. The nurse was now directing Vita as she and her own Pokémon did all they could.

It was as if nobody could hear my screams, but I sure as hell did. I called everyone all sorts of interesting names, all the while trying to break free and go back to help. In the end, it was no use.

No one could hear me, that was, except for the pink blur. As it darted about the corners of my eyes, I was completely unaware of its attention to my emotions and reaction. How could it be? It was just a hallucination.

As far as I was concerned, though, I was leaving, and Somin was already gone.


	2. Subsiding Storm

**l**

 **Chapter I: Subsiding Storm**

* * *

My legs burned as feeling returned to them.

Slowly but surely, my entire body resumed in transmission of its normal sensations, first my legs, then waist, then hands, and eventually head and chest. I was able to move, but I chose not to.

I'd hardly noticed all of it, anyways, being so deep in thought. The ceiling seemed incredibly intriguing, so I chose to stare at a single spot while I let my mind wander.

The storm in my thoughts had long since passed, and I was simply watching apathetically as the dark clouds rolled away, leaving emptiness in their wake.

I knew, deep down, nothing was alright, but opted to act not as if everything was fine. It was a calm, peaceful medium in which I could fully absorb the implications of what had happened not two hours before.

A quick look out of the corner of my eyes revealed it to be 11:30 PM. I'd been paralyzed for an hour and a half, at most, and wasn't any excited to finally be coming out of it. Regaining feeling only meant I had to face my problems and plan for the future.

I sat up with a groan and rested my back against the headboard. The first thing I did directly afterwards was bring my hands to my face and sigh a long breath, assuring myself the entire exchange wasn't a nightmare.

I caught sight of the door on the other side of the room and, giving in to a sad sort of curiosity, flung my legs over the side of the bed and stood, wobbly. Taking small steps, I stumbled towards the door, nearly falling onto it as I arrived. Using my left hand as a brace, I rested it on the doorknob.

I waited a few moments, panting, before trying to turn the knob.

 _CLICK_

Locked… Of course it was.

A sudden lightning strike of anger assaulted my brain, compelling me to hit the door with the heel of my hand as hard as I could. It felt nice.

I sunk back into apathy as the thunder in my brain subsided. I turned around, slinking back towards the bed while muttering all along. I tried keeping my mind off the issue as much as possible.

I noticed something bulging on the sheets in the dim lighting of the room. Reaching out to grab it as I arrived, I realized it was my hiking bag, worn and torn in spots due to years of use.

Absentmindedly, I took inventory of its contents as if the action would assure me everything was alright. A few Potions, some dry food, my hammock, and…

A Pokéball, and most definitely not the one I kept as a spare. I could recognize, only through touch, the unique grooves and dents making this specific device different from all the rest in my possession. Someone had come in earlier, while I was still paralyzed, to drop the bag off. Could it be?

Feeling my heart rate rise in suspicion, I twirled the ball around in my palm with practiced ease. A nervous tick, if anything. I found the button with my middle finger and, cringing in anticipation, pressed it.

I hardly noticed the lid of the ball flip up as a magnificent light and an ethereal whoosh filled the room for a split second. The white light, seemingly volatile, squirmed and convulsed until it found shape just a few feet away.

I sat on my bed, guilt prompting me to turn my head away, as Vita spawned before me.

The sound and light were quick to die out, leaving the room in silence.

I could see her tomato-red eyes dart around before they found my own. I averted my gaze as I began speaking in defeat.

"Vita… I don't know what to do…"

I could hear sliding across the carpeted room as the Serperior approached. I refused to face her.

"They won't let me out, they wouldn't tell me how Somin's doing… Vita, I don't think he's going to make it…"

I pursed my lips as my face burned.

"Ser…"

I shot Vita a short glance to see her staring at me compassionately. I rubbed my face vigorously.

"Did you see anything? After they took me out?"

She shook her head solemnly.

"Arceus, it's Black City all over again… I should've listened to Skyla and quit while I was ahead…"

In defeat, Vita joined me on the bed, letting her tail rest on the floor as the remainder of her snake-like body stretched to my right and behind me. She rested her head down on the bed to my left, where I had since been looking. I turned away from her again.

I bit my upper lip. "No one else knows what happened yet… How the hell am I supposed to tell them Somin died because I couldn't learn when to quit?! Fighting this Gym was stupid! We were nowhere near ready, and I had no idea what I was doing, and Axle and Victor and Jet all got beat up, and—"

I didn't notice I was hyperventilating until one of Vita's vines snaked along the back of my neck and down my spine. I realized I was still shirtless after earlier.

"Perior, ser," she said soothingly, yet with a hint of turmoil. She was telling me it wasn't my fault.

"It is my fault!" I reaffirmed, "Sure, you guys were the ones that pushed me into the fight, but I'm the trainer! I'm supposed to make the final decision! I went along with it all, when I knew it wasn't a good idea, and—"

"Serperior, peri, perior serp—"

"You know Somin even better than I do! You and I both know he's never been hurt this bad!"

"Peri, ser."

"Then why wouldn't they tell me he was okay?! They're trying figure out how to tell me my Pokémon _died_! Would you tell me my best friend is dead right now, Vita?! I'm a mess!"

I stood up in anger again, finding nothing better to do than walk around in pointless circles. I tried keeping my gaze away from the Serperior as much as possible, but in the fleeting views I had of her, I could see her head hanging.

"What the hell are we supposed to do, Vita?!" I asked as I ran my hands through my uncut hair. "I can't go through all this again! I can't! I won't! And for what? A badge? Some money?"

I couldn't control myself, stuttering endlessly as the full gravity of the situation hit me. The culmination of all my effort.

"I… I-I killed my b-best friend for a f-fancy piece of tin…"

I found my legs walking me involuntarily towards the door.

"GODDAMN IT, LET ME OUT!" I screamed as I hit the door again. And again. And aga-

Vita wrapped a single vine around my right wrist, preventing me from striking the cold wood again. As my breath started calming, pain flared up from the heel of my palm. As the Serperior let me go, I brought it down to my side.

"We're fucked," I said defeatedly while turning around, leaning against the door, and slinking to the ground. "S-Somin's…"

 _Don't you goddamn dare cry right now._

I clenched my teeth tight as I hiccuped, watching Vita otherwise absentmindedly as she departed the bed and approached cautiously. She herself was crying, though not profusely. I could still see the hope she had in her eyes.

Her snout brushed past my face in comfort as she slithered herself into the space behind me. She proceeded to coil around me once more and lay her head down on my lap.

"It's my fault…" I reiterated to myself. "I knew we weren't ready, and I didn't do anything… Jet just barely evolved, and Victor hasn't even been in a Gym battle yet."

"Ser… Serper."

"No, it was stupid. Stupid ambition, stupid—"

 _KNOCK KNOCK_

My head perked up as the loud sound from directly behind me reverberated throughout the room. As Vita lifted her head, I scrambled to my knees, where I could stand and turn. I hardly waited for Vita to scurry out of the way before I, now finding the handle unlocked, flung the door open.

"Drayden!" I exclaimed breathlessly, not finding myself as surprised as expected to see the dragon Gym Leader standing before me. "How is he?!"

Drayden's yellow-tinted eyes cut into the dimness of the room and looked me over. The man was quite muscular for his age, white, button-down shirt hardly hiding his toned body. It was a display of strength, before anything else.

"You're being quite loud. May I come in?"

His voice was compassionate, but covered over a thick layer of depth and gruffness. I stared at him, confounded.

"Just tell me if Somin's okay!"

"We need to talk for a moment first."

"W-What?"

The Gym Leader, not bothering to wait for a response, stepped into the room. Vita sent him a glare from my right.

"Sit."

"Why do you wa—"

"The sooner we finish speaking to one another, the sooner I'll tell you of your Zoroark's condition. Sit."

It wasn't a request. Finding no other option, and after exchanging a glance with Vita, I let her lead me back over to the bed. As I settled myself, Drayden grabbed the lone chair from the desk in the room and placed it where he could speak to me face-to-face.

Only silence passed between us for a few moments.

"I'd like to begin by congratulating you for making it this far… It's not everyday a serious challenger comes by my Gym, especially one as young as sixteen."

I could feel a glare start to form on my face.

"I'd also like to give a sincere apology for what has happened. A Haxorus' scythes are sharp, this much I know for myself."

He, turning his gaze away from me, raised his shirt cuff to reveal a long, dull scar stretching along the outside of almost his whole right bicep.

"Your strategy, for the most part, was brilliant. I regret not paying my full attention now, seeing as your Zoroark's near-impeccable impersonation of a Steelix shot clear over my head."

"You're talking to me like nothing happened… Where's my team?"

"I'm simply trying to make lighthearted chatter. Bar the… Unfortunate ending, it was an impressive battle, no?"

"Cut the shit. You'd better tell me right now whether or not Somin is dead. Whether or not _you_ killed him."

I knew the statement not to be true in my heart. Truth at the time, however, was easily covered by resentment. Knowing I wasn't going to get a straight answer out of him immediately, I turned to the side.

"Where's my team?" I reiterated.

"You're team's currently resting. They've fought a hard battle and deserve at least that much."

I huffed heavily. In response, Drayden sighed, leaning forward and interlacing his fingers.

"I can't help you if you don't talk with me."

"I want to know if he's okay, Drayden," I said, "and I want to see the rest of my team."

"I don't want you leaving, at least not anytime soon… How can you guarantee you won't if I grant you three extra, fully-healed and fully-grown Pokémon who follow your every command?"

I scowled at him. Why would I leave if Somin was injured and had to remain behind?

"It's rare a challenger like you comes through my Gym, as I've said, and I usually try to treat each worthy adversary with a meal to speak about their journey and what they plan for the future. I suppose that's something you wouldn't appreciate at the moment?"

"What do you think?" I spat in response.

Drayden sighed. "Well then, who should I call about this whole scenario? Parents? Relatives?"

"No one," I put forth harshly.

"... Hmmph. Touchy, are we? It simply would be a formality. Everyone in Unova will know your name and your situation when morning comes, either way."

"The hell do you mean?"

"The battle was broadcast live during primetime, and I'm sure the conclusion to our battle will draw more eyes than it already has."

Cursing under my breath, I turned away. People pestering me about the situation was the last thing I wanted.

"You're keeping me from seeing my team," I diverted, "including my best friend, who, if you haven't noticed, is dying. You seem smart enough to figure out why I'm mad, especially since _you_ were the one who made me leave."

He leaned forwards, a thoughtful look on his face. "You're a lone trainer, no friends or relatives to speak of on your record, and now an eight-badger to add. I'm simply curious as to how you plan your future from here on."

"... An eight-badger," I responded, not as a question.

Drayden, closing his eyes for less than a moment in a silent confirmation, reached his right hand into his pocket. He outstretched his fist and turned it before showing me what was inside.

"It's yours," he put plain and simply, offering me to pick up a small, irregularly-shaped object from his hand. "You succeeded in knocking out all my Pokémon."

I stared, dumbfounded, at the Gym Badge for all of two seconds. It was everything I'd ever wanted as a trainer, and yet, I couldn't help but gag at the sight of it.

"Are you kidding me?" I voiced, raising my head to stare at the Gym Leader with a look of disgust. "Somin is _dying_ , and all for this stupid Badge! You think I want it?!"

"Ah, how insensitive of me," he responded, placing the badge on the bedside table next to him. Without looking at me, he continued. "Would it go better with the news your Zoroark is not on his deathbed, in fact, and is going to make a full recovery?"

"H—... What?"

"I believe you heard me rather well. Somin is weak, of course, but is stable and on the track of healing."

"H-he's…" I felt myself start gripping Vita's vine with vice as my eyes began to burn. "Okay?"

"If you'd like to put it in context, yes. He will be fine."

I covered my mouth with my right hand to hide the spontaneous facial expressions to hit it. I closed my eyes and clenched them tight, struggling not to let myself shake. He was okay… Somin wasn't dead.

"I certainly apologize for the inconvenience I've caused you and your team. If there's anything further I can do to help you all recover, by all means. My Haxorus extends his apologies as well, but we were both afraid your seeing him would hurt more than it helped."

"W-what the hell?!" I breathed shakily, hoping to detract attention from my involuntary reaction, "W-why didn't you t-tell me that in the first place?!"

"I knew you would be having a reaction much like this, and was hoping to learn a bit more about you before I left you to your revelry."

"S-screw off," I stuttered sincerely, though most likely sounding like a playful jab with the way I was laughing in relief.

"Your team will be delivered here within the hour. The Legend Badge's still yours. Congratulations, Ray Alston, you've completed the Gym Challenge."

I ignored the Gym Leader further as he excused himself from the room. By then, Vita had worked her vines around my torso, prompting me to join her in a tight embrace.

I breathed heavily, refusing to cry openly, all while I could feel her snout come to rest on my shoulder, letting me know she was there. I squeezed her harder, choking and coughing simultaneously.

As I heard the door latch behind Drayden as he left, I finally let it all out.

* * *

Images, as they appeared and disappeared from the screen before me, lit up the room in a whir of color.

I sat on the floor, gripping onto and occasionally stroking Vita absentmindedly. Most of my concentration was on determining where I'd faltered. I hadn't let go of the Serperior once since Drayden left.

"Ser," she said from my left side in proposal, "per, serperior…"

She was suggesting something, this much I knew. Without context and surrounding situation, however, I found myself at a loss for what she meant specifically.

"We don't have Somin to translate, Vita… You're gonna have to be more specific."

She sighed before ripping my attention away from the television with a gesture. The replay of my previous battle would have to wait.

Once she had my attention, she proceeded to open her mouth and gesture towards it with a vine.

"Food? You're hungry?"

She shook her head before prodding my shoulder with her snout.

"Oh… I'm not hungry, Vita… I feel sick… Food would suck."

She narrowed her eyes ever so slightly in annoyance.

"Thanks for being concerned… It's past one in the morning now anyways… Nothing here in the Center's going to be open, and I really don't want to leave in case the others are brought here. I can get you some food, though, if you want."

I watched as she silently accepted I wasn't going to eat before nodding her head. Smiling a weak smile, I lightly scratched behind her ear before standing, turning, and digging through my bag.

"Pinap or Cheri?" I asked out of instinct before I realized she couldn't reasonably answer without Somin present.

Instead, after exhaling, I tossed her both. She caught one in her mouth and the second with a vine. She nodded her head in thanks.

"So, Vita," I addressed, remembering something, "I actually wanted to ask what you—"

 _KNOCK KNOCK_

I ceased talking immediately, only sharing a small glance with the Serperior before darting for the door. Within five seconds of the knocking, I'd flung the door open.

What lay before me on the ground were two metal trays. The first was home to a metal platter, home to various foods without a doubt intended for me. The second had a few bowls on top, with a couple bags of Pokéfood off to the side. Three Pokéballs were placed in a bowl each.

Looking around, I could see someone walking away, but chose not to address them. Instead, I dragged the first tray just inside the doorway while grabbing the second one and bringing it over to the bed.

I just about had my hands on the first Pokéballs when I realized something.

"Vita, what are we supposed to tell them?"

She'd since joined my side and looked at me with thought. After a sigh, she pointed at herself and said a few words.

"You want to talk to them? No… Vita, you weren't there to know what happened. I should be the one to tell them…"

She nodded in solemn understanding, however reluctant. She joined me on the bed.

"Alright, then…"

I scooped up all three Pokéballs and, after sending Vita a final glance, simultaneously pressed the buttons on all of them. I watched as the light created by the release flash and dim to reveal three of my five total team members.

"Guys," I began addressing the now-conscious Swampert, Braviary, and Durant, "we have a bit of a problem."

* * *

I stared at the back of my own eyelids for hours upon hours after I'd finished explaining the situation and answering questions to the best of my ability. I'd tried to avert conversation by revealing we'd won the battle, but it had little effect. I still didn't have any traces of an appetite by the time I went to sleep, so I left my meal to the team.

Everyone had settled down by the time thirty minutes had passed, though I could still hear hushed conversation between distinct voices, the smoothness of Vita's, the throatiness of Axle's, and the shrillness of Jet's for at least another hour.

I told myself I had control over how I felt regarding the situation. Somin was fine, and there was no reason to carry on about what happened to him.

Why did I feel so guilty about it?

I opened my eyes a great time later, knowing I would be unable to sleep at all. Sighing, I sat up.

Vita was curled up into a coil at my feet, while Jet roosted on the bedside corner just beside her. Axle slept on the floor on the right side of the bed, while Victor occupied the space under the heater on the far wall.

Making sure not to wake everyone, I stood and walked over to the bathroom, flipping on the white light. Closing the door behind me, I turned on the faucet and waited for the water to get warm. I splashed my face a few times.

 _THUD_

I jumped as the bathtub behind me, curtain drawn, made a noise on its own. I stared at it for the longest time while I allowed my heart to slow.

 _Probably something wrong with the plumbing…_

I turned back to the mirror, exhaling, before hearing another noise.

 _Drip… Drip… Drip…_

I turned back to the bathtub.

 _So it was something wrong with the plumbing… Now the showerhead is leaking._

I was about to turn away once again when I noticed something at the corner of the tub and the wall. Something was running along the crevice, a liquid falling to the ground and creating a puddle.

I decided to investigate, leaning forward to touch it. Upon bringing my finger back to my eyes, I took a moment to absorb what it was.

A red, thick substance was pooling on the ground.

A shadow flashed across the corner of my vision. It was behind the shower curtain, and had been darting about as if flying. While it had disappeared by the time I gave it attention, I could tell it was quite small.

Feeling my heart rate rise again, I put out a shaky hand to grip the shower curtain and pull it back.

* * *

I thrashed about wildly, unable to scream. I could hardly breathe as well, only made harder when _something_ surrounded my body constricted itself in response.

When I realized where I was, however, I began to calm down. I was back in my bed, and coiled around me was none other than Vita. Her red eyes were already dead on my face, hoping to figure out what was wrong.

"Vita," I choked, "can't… Breathe…"

I saw her face light up in surprise as she loosened her grip. I began breathing heavily to calm down.

"Ser, serperior!" she reprimanded, moving her head to look me over as if I was hurt.

"It was just a nightmare, Vita, I'm fine…"

I sighed. Why had my mind chosen to play tricks on me then, of all times?

A quick glance at the clock revealed it to be 5:48. I'd gotten maybe four hours of sleep, but I'd be damned if I was going back to it.

"Sorry I woke you up…"

"Perior…"

I sighed again. "I'm gonna go get breakfast. I'll grab you guys a Poffin or something while I'm down there…"

With that, I shrugged off her heavy body before throwing my legs over the bed. Apparently, the only other being I'd woken with my outburst was Jet. The Braviary eyed me emotionlessly.

"Any of you want to come?"

While Vita shook her head no, Jet nodded. I supposed the former wanted to get a bit more sleep. The Braviary, on the other hand, was always a light sleeper.

"Come on then…"

Everyone had woken up by the time we returned. We all shared a silent breakfast, everyone picking from either the food I brought back or the remaining Berries in my pack. None of us had much of an appetite.

Getting an idea, I turned on the television and switched it to the local news. As expected, the hosts were recapping last night's battle.

 _It's like there's nothing real to report on…_

"We _have_ been receiving reports that Alston's Zoroark is in stable condition and will recover… Not much else is known, but this sudden twist following the severe injury just last night… It's nothing short of a miracle, I'd say."

"Assholes," I muttered to myself. Publicity was the last thing I wanted in the world. I would have to adjust to it, seeing as I was now an Eight Badge trainer… I turned off the television and let myself lay back on the bed.

The realization I'd accomplished what had basically been my life's goal since I was little was a strong force indeed. It hit me once again in full strength, though seemed rather dull. I still had no clue how to feel. Elated? Depressed? How did my team feel? It was certainly a much different feeling than I'd imagined. Up until the previous night, I had imagined a full day of revelry and celebration, anything and everything to bond further with my team and give us all a pat on the back.

Two soft knocks on the door resounded through the room. There was a moment of silence in which I shared a look with everyone present. Looking then at the clock, it read 7:00 exactly.

I jumped off of the bed and towards the door. Praying for an update, I swung the door open wide.

Drayden was on the other side. His face remained expressionless as I addressed him.

"Oh… Hey," I said, eyebrows creasing.

"Good morning," he responded respectfully, letting the slimmest of smiles grace his face. "Did you sleep well?"

"The hell do you think?"

A moment of silence passed before he chuckled ever so slightly. "I thought not, but it was worth the ask either way."

I lowered my head, looking through him.

"I suppose you want news on your Zoroark's condition?"

"He's stable, isn't he?"

Drayden sent me a blank stare.

"Your Zoroark has quite the recovery time. Have you noticed?"

"What? No, not really?"

"I suppose the injury was never that grave after all, then," he concluded, closing his eyes and shrugging somewhat.

"What are you talking about? He nearly died!"

Drayden, without another word, held out a few pieces of paper held together by a paper clip. I looked at them oddly.

"Apparently not. The nurses asked me to give you these."

"What are they?"

"A report. If it weren't for protocol, they would be discharge papers."

Confused, I looked him straight in the eye.

"Read them carefully if you would," he continued, shaking the stack to remind me it was there. I glared at him.

"Of course, you could simply not accept the papers and have your Zoroark become a candidate for adoption…"

I swiped the papers with a scowl on my face.

"It seems apparent your Zoroark underwent a… Well, I don't quite know how to describe it myself. The papers will tell you everything you need to know, including his eventual discharge."

I clicked my tongue and sighed, holding the papers by my side. "Thank you, Drayden," I said quietly.

"Don't thank me just yet… Skyla is coming."

I froze in the doorway for a moment before stealing a worried glance back towards my team.

"Obviously, she is quite concerned. She hasn't spoken with you for quite some time, no?"

"Well…"

"She believes you are avoiding her… I have an idea as to why. She was apparently watching our battle last night. I had no idea you two were related."

"Thanks for coming, Drayden."

I tried closing the door without issue, but was halted as he stopped it with his hand on the other side.

"She's your aunt, Ray. The fact she didn't contact you directly worries me."

I thought for a moment and sighed quietly.

"I can't stay… There's just a whole can of worms I _really_ don't want to reopen."

"I suppose there's a hard choice ahead then. Abandon your Zoroark to flee Skyla, or stay and meet her."

I hadn't thought that far ahead.

"I believe you know what's right, for you and your Zoroark. She'll be here tomorrow morning."

By then I was breathing heavily, seething. Despite the Gym Leader's proposing the situation as a choice, he knew I had none. I cared too much for Somin.

"By the way, I believe I told you last night I appreciate treating my victors to dinner. I hope you're available tonight, if you feel up to it, that is. Come by my Gym later if so, we have much more to talk about."

Without even waiting for so much as an answer, I heard his footsteps recede down the hall. I stood still for a moment before shutting the door.

Everyone was wide awake now if they weren't before. They looked at me expectantly.

I brought my hands up to my face and rubbed it vigorously, groaning. I mouthed a curse under my breath as my face began to feel hot.

"She's gonna be soooooo pissed," I complained, spinning and flopping on the bed.

I was nothing but a sitting duck now. A concern began to form at the back of my mind, and being stuck in Opelucid was surely no way to alleviate it.

A thought spawned, stemming from the revelation I was stuck in the city without any means of escape. Before I could give it any fuel, I shoved it into the back of my mind. There was no way they'd follow me. I had doubts I was even on their radar, considering the lack of events during the few years prior. After all, I'd given no indication—

Grimacing and terminating the sour thought, I decided to read the papers Drayden had given me. I detached a sticky-note on the front page with an address and a time before setting it aside. Probably a restaurant he wanted me to see him at. Fat chance.

* * *

Around twelve noon, I was stepping through the threshold of a recovery room in the back of the Center with purpose. Upon seeing me enter, a nurse inside the room quickly got up from her computer and walked out behind me without a word, closing the door behind her.

Creasing my eyebrows, I took some rapid steps forward to examine Somin.

If I hadn't known better, I'd mistake the Zoroark sleeping soundly on the single bed in the room for another altogether. Yet, this was definitely Somin, looking as young and healthy as ever.

The report has detailed this miracle, and it was even hinted by Drayden himself, but I believed it simply to be an over-exaggeration. There was simply no way he could've healed this quickly.

I took a look at the site of the wound. The fur in the area was shaved away, so it was apparent the gash had already closed, leaving behind a long, pink scar. Not even stitches remained, exactly as the report had detailed.

I'd had a lot of time to process the apparent rapid healing he'd gone through. Now, I was actually _seeing_ what I'd been told about, and I was troubled.

At first, I couldn't believe what was typed out as I sat in my room, skimming over them. According to the nurses, apparently Somin was already fully healed, only exhaustion remaining in the wake of the grisly injury.

I had reread the same line of text perhaps hundreds of times. I spent nearly the entire day, holed up in my room, pondering it before I could muster up the courage to see it for myself.

Was I supposed to be happy he was alright? In all honesty, I was ecstatic. For a while, my best friend had been completely gone, at least in my mind. To see him perfectly well-off was a breathtaking experience.

On the other hand, I was frightened. This… This was unprecedented. Somin had a lot to explain for as soon as he woke.

Forcibly shoving the matter to the back of my mind, I skimmed over the balls on my belt and released my remaining team members one by one. I'd withdrew them in the lobby to avoid unwanted attention. Now that I was easily recognizable, people would feel obligated to approach me, which was the last thing I wanted.

Vita was quick to wrap a vine around Somin's forearm. I doubted she would let go for quite some time.

Axle stepped up next to me and leant a portion of his weight on my side. Smiling softly, I scratched the top of the Swampert's head.

"Alright guys, I know we've been avoiding it, but it's about time we figured out what the plan is."

Everyone looked at me expectantly.

"Staying in Opelucid is a must right now, but we should really start—"

" _The nurse left?_ "

My head whipped towards the bed, recognizing the telepathic voice in a heartbeat. Everyone else had much of the same reaction.

Somin's eyes were open, and I could tell he was trying to sit up.

" _Good, she was starting to get on my nerves."_

The floodgates opened. I had so much I wanted to say, but only one mouth to speak with.

"Somin! What the hell is wrong with you! You can't use illusions right now! Areyouokay? WhythehellwouldyoukeepfightingthatHaxorusafteryougoth-"

" _Thanks, guys, for the welcome back into the land of the living._ "

It took me a moment to realize I wasn't the only one yelling. Both Vita and Axle were chewing the Zoroark out as well.

" _How long was I out for? I had one hell of a dream._ "

Silence all around.

" _Doesn't matter anyways. We win?_ "

"Somin, shut up… You shouldn't be using illusions to talk right now."

" _I feel fine, been awake for an hour or two anyways. Tired as you'd believe, though… Didn't want the nurse pokin' around anything, so I made it into a game of how long I could keep her from noticing."_

"Are you serious?"

" _Yep,"_ he responded, lifting up his head and staring directly at me.

"I would be so angry at you right now if I wasn't so happy to see you okay."

" _You're starting to sound like Vita…_ "

I sighed in frustration before a more caring expression took control.

"You feel okay? Nothing wrong?"

" _Chill. I'm fine,_ " he blew me off lightheartedly, getting his arms under him and grunting as he pushed himself up.

Vita just about had a stroke right then, going off on Somin for his unnecessary movement. The Zoroark spoke with her for a moment out loud before shrugging.

"Arceus, Somin, you're the one that needs to chill! You almost _died_ , and for what? A damn badge? You know how little I've cared about actually getting the badge or not since—"

" _Oh, spare me the whole 'it doesn't matter' bullshit, because you're an awful liar. We pushed you to do the fight because we knew you wanted it, wanted it more than anything, but you were too afraid to actually man up and be our trainer._ "

"I… I don't want to be your trainer. I want to be your partner. Like we did it in Black Ci—"

" _And what, a Gym fight means you're the awful trainer that gets all the benefit from forcing his Pokémon to fight for him? Yeah, maybe if you're an asshole about it, but was it not obvious enough we actually_ _ **like**_ _being your Pokémon, Ray? We would've ditched you a long time ago if that wasn't the case. So get your head out of your ass, grow a pair, and take some credit for once._ "

A few moments of silence followed. I used it to digest what the Zoroark had told me before remembering why I was angry at him in the first place.

"Even then," I muttered. "It's not worth dying over. You went way too far, Somin."

" _Relax, it was a little scratch. I don't even know why I'm here, to be honest._ "

"A litt-A LITTLE SCRATCH?! Look at your leg, Somin!"

The Zoroark sent me a sarcastic look.

"Look at it!"

Rolling his eyes, he tilted his head to gaze at the outer edge of his leg. His sarcastic expression slowly turned into one of confusion. He was quick to start looking sick

" _N-no… I swear to Arceus it was a scratch! What happened?!_ "

"You mean you don't remember?"

" _NO! How long have I been out?! A week?! Two?!_ "

I exchanged a look with Vita. Somin was purely frightened, a state I rarely ever saw him in.

"Okay, okay, calm down… Let's just—"

" _You said I almost died?! ALMOST DIED?!_ "

He began speaking to himself in physical tongue, more than likely curses of shock.

"Somin, we can figure this out," I said, advancing on the Zoroark. "Just to be safe, I'd feel a lot better if you quit wasting energy through illusions right now. If you want me to be a man and actually take charge, then that's my command. Chill out."

The Zoroark's breathing began to calm as Vita snaked a vine around his wrist and forearm, slowly spiraling up until it reached his shoulder. Slowly, she guided him back to a resting position. He didn't dare resist this time, slipping into a rather cautious demeanor.

"Okay. This may sound crazy, but you've been knocked out for less than 24 hours… The nurses' reports I read said they'd never seen a recovery like this, and you weren't magical the last time I checked."

Silence for a moment. He was abiding by my request to refrain from using illusions.

"I can ask what they think happened, but I wanted to make sure you were alright first. Is it okay if I do that?"

Somin nodded slowly.

"Alright. More importantly, I want to know if _you're alright_. Nothing's hurting you, right?"

He shook his head.

"That's all that matters. We were all really worried."

Hoping to console him and driven by the moment, I reached out and embraced him behind the neck, coming in for a light hug. I sighed before letting go again.

Afterwards, I just backed away and sat down in the chair by the bed as silence engulfed the room completely. Nothing else needed to be said.

* * *

That night, I lied awake once again after I'd excused myself to sleep, picking out all the shapes I could see in the popcorn ceiling. While my team chatted amongst themselves in my room, the new addition of Somin included, I thought about a few different concerns of the day.

 _The nurses told me the only way he could've healed that fast was if his natural power level was so high it regrew the skin before he lost too much blood… It sounds bogus._

 _I really guess there's no way to avoid Skyla, then… The nurses only let Somin stay in my room on the condition we stayed here for at least a week. Hell, they even let me discharge him officially, meaning I could leave if I wanted to. I wonder if Drayden knows…_

 _What kind of guy would I be if I broke a promise like that, though? Somin could probably use the physical therapy the center provides, anyways. Avoiding seeing Skyla isn't a big enough reason to up and disappear into thin air. Hell, where would we even go?_

I rolled my eyes.

 _I can't believe that entire battle was televised… I should've read the papers I signed more closely, but hell, anyone that wants to know where I am knows exactly where to look. Talk about keeping a low profile._

I stole a glance at my team. They seemed happy.

 _They're not a threat anymore. Maybe when Amaterasu went missing, they just gave up? I'd bet they wouldn't be able to go on without a leader… If they stuck together, something should've happened to me by now, but almost a year has passed, and nothing's gone on._

I smiled ever so slightly in my team's happiness.

 _We're alright. All of us. Somin's alive, and we beat all the Gyms. He has to be pretty happy about that, no matter his confusion regarding how he was hurt._

My smile faded.

 _Though, I have to tell him about Skyla coming to visit… He's not going to be happy._

Cocking the corner of my mouth, I pushed myself up so I could lean up against the headboard. Somin himself was on the opposite side of the bed, sitting up in a position much like myself. The team's conversation fell silent as it became obvious I was still awake.

"Somin, did they tell you Skyla's coming?"

The Zoroark looked away for a moment in what seemed like guilty frustration.

"I'll take that as a yes… Don't blame yourself, it's good she's coming to see us anyways. I've started to feel bad about how we just ditched her and never called."

Axle and Jet particularly seemed miffed at the idea of seeing my aunt. Each of them had a very similar opinion of the Mistralton City Gym Leader, and including Somin, each of them had their own reasons for their dislike of her.

" _No matter_ your guys' opinions on her, she's helped us a ton over the years. I wouldn't have even met any of you guys if it weren't for her. We're all going to be nice and respectful. If I'm being honest, I think we've blamed her more than she deserves."

A question spontaneously spawned at the forefront of my mind.

"Guys… After this is all said and done… What do you want to do after?"

I let the question sink for a moment.

"I mean… We've talked about it before, but, well… I don't know if any of us really expected to beat the Gym on the first attempt."

Somin had a lighthearted chuckle at the truth I'd stated.

"As I see it," I continued, "we have two choices right now, so if you think of any others, tell me," I continued. "I guess I'm impartial to whatever we end up doing after leaving Opelucid… So, let's decide. The two ideas I had were to either go and challenge the Elite Four, or we could go on vacation… A REAL one…"

That last suggestion easily caught the hopeful stares of both Vita and Somin, who were the only ones on my team when I had last taken a 'real' vacation. I, after a few failures at the Fourth Gym in Nimbasa City, chose to take a break and fly out to Hoenn, where we spent three weeks in Slateport. I liked to think that was when my team first started to really warm up to me, but it could be argued, considering it was still early in the journey.

Twice with Axle and Jet, and once with Victor, the team had gone to Undella Town for the beaches it boasted, but it was never really the same as going to a different region. Every experience we'd had there was sour in my mind, anyways. The mood was rather tumultuous, leaving very little room for an enjoyable experience.

"If we were to go on vacation, I thought we could actually head back to Hoenn, but Lavaridge instead this time. The Hot Springs there look amazing, and we deserve some relaxation after everything that's happened." Half to myself, I continued, chuckling "Arceus, we're finally done. Heh…"

There was a reason Lavaridge was considered a higher-quality vacationing spot to even Slateport, the beachside tourist trap. Lavaridge was bound to be much less congested, surely, due to the soaring prices of the resorts there.

The difference between the vacation five and a half years before, however, was my bank account. I had yet to check if my prize money from defeating Drayden's Gym had appeared; more than likely somewhere in the six-figure range. That, combined with the rest of the money I'd made over the years from which I'd hardly tapped due to living a simplistic, traveling life, was more than likely enough to set me up for as long as I liked. More popular events in the eyes of the public proved ludicrously profitable.

Even though I hadn't seen firsthand the celebrity's treatment I was yet to receive, I knew it was coming. I'd been watching the television earlier, and most news stations and battling channels spoke about none other than I myself. I hadn't even given much thought about what becoming an Eight Badger would entail in terms of my popularity. Three days ago, maybe a few avid trainers or league fanatics had known my name as a victor of the Seventh Gym. If my popularity on the television was any indication, I was quickly growing as a national idol as the youngest Eight Badger currently alive in Unova.

"Now, the other option, the Elite Four… Honestly, we're nowhere near ready to take on Alder, or any other Champion that may take his place, but I don't just want to stop after having gotten all the Badges. I don't really think I could live a life just sitting still, if you guys know what I mean…" I sighed ponderously, reminiscing on how alienated I had become from society after all my travels. Even now, I felt my mind was changed permanently, seeing as, after having spent a majority of our journey, taking up more than a third of my life, in the wilderness, I felt more comfortable around the creatures I had met and traveled with than around humans.

"So, tell me, what do you guys wanna do? Like I said, I'm honestly pretty impartial, and while I do have a slight preference, I would be just as happy to go and take on the Elite Four."

The room was silent for a few moments in a calm sense of contemplation. Vita and Somin were looking at each other excitedly, Victor and Axle were conversing quietly, Jet adding in a point every few moments.

I let about a minute pass, leaving the conversations to die out before speaking up once more.

"Alright, we ready to take a vote?"

Jet's interrupted the proceedings with his shrill squawks, trying to get my attention.

"Jet? You got a different idea?"

The Braviary nodded. I then proceeded to address Somin.

"Hey, you feeling up to translation?"

He shrugged in indifference. Nodding to myself, I told Jet to begin. Somin, using his illusions, began translating the Braviary's speech in real time.

" _Honestly, as much as I'd love to go and fight the Elite Four, I believe you when you say we're nowhere near ready. I'm interested in seeing the Hot Springs, if they're as nice as you say. I actually had another idea in mind of what to do afterwards..._ "

I look at him curiously during his little pause, pondering what he could have in mind. It wasn't characteristic of Jet to give suggestions, but then again, it was a refreshing change of pace.

When it was evident to him that I wasn't going to respond, Somin continued in Jet's stead as if nothing had happened. " _I was thinking, because we're nowhere near the level of the Elite Four, the only way to fix that is more experience and training, right? Now, I know we've done a lot of it. Hell, the year in the wilderness and the Tour, or whatever you called it, helped a ton._ "

He was right. The two events mentioned, were those in which, in order to get stronger, my team and I would go off and live in the wilderness for extended periods of time, away from all civilization.

The prior came after four failures in Icirrus City, in an attempt to get the seventh badge. In order to stop ourselves from repeating the many failures needed to get the Fifth and Sixth Badges, I proposed a plan. A year we would stay in the wilderness, in the area around Twist Mountain, as a constant training session. Everyone, their feelings somewhat doused by the consecutive losses, readily agreed when it was put to a vote. This plan, while intended to strengthen the team physically, also succeeded in strengthening the relationship between us. It all turned out quite well, considering we had beaten the gym first try when we got back, and we gained a new companion in the form of Victor, along with a whole slew of evolutions.

The latter, which I dubbed as 'The Tour' came as a result of the paranoia surrounding Drayden and the battle including him. After we had defeated Icirrus, we decided to take a trip to Undella, but instead of traveling back the regular route or fly when finished, I proposed we take the long way around, lengthening the trek greatly. The only objection I had was from Vita and Axle, but after some coaxing, they were readily on board. The journey ended up taking from January to September, when we arrived in Opelucid. A week later, I had challenged Drayden, and here we were now.

Those two events in particular, accompanied by the other journeys we had taken between cities, had helped the team to grow stronger, more so than any other method I had ever attempted. In all instances, I had trained alongside my team, at least to the best of my ability, considering I couldn't exactly keep up with the equivalent of superpowered animals, ones with elemental abilities that could easily dispatch me if needed. Yet, I liked to think I had improved in the physical aspect, the altitude of Twist Mountain during our year in the wilderness certainly helping.

So, in all regards, Jet was absolutely right in saying that they had helped, and not only that. While it was tough, and often painful, I believed, at that point, that I had grown to enjoy living in the wild like family, rather than live in the now redundant comforts of society. I had no ideas surrounding what we would do after the Hot Springs, but I felt strongly against the idea of conforming back to society after all that time away. I wasn't really sure if I could ever feel comfortable in society again, and if we were to train more and more, we might have been able to, one day, be capable of fighting the Elite Four. However, if Jet had an alternative, I was all ears.

"Well, yeah, of course," I answered, "I was honestly thinking about what to do to train up. Was thinking about heading back to the cave, maybe, train up for a while."

Jet shrugged. " _I was actually thinking of something a bit more… Interesting._ _What if, after we were done with the Lavaridge Hot Springs, we didn't leave Hoenn?_ "

I let that notion sit for a moment, tossing around the idea with interest.

"You'd want to do another Gym Challenge?"

" _Well, yeah. I actually had a lot of fun doing this, and it's a lot more interesting of a way to gain experience, rather than just sit over at Twist Mountain until we think we're ready._ "

The idea sounded appealing, especially considering I didn't have the daunting task of training my team to fruition before taking on the Gyms. Really, I didn't know how strong the Gym Leaders were in Hoenn, but I did know that we would clear all eight Gyms faster than we had done in Unova.

Overall, it was a great idea, and one I wouldn't even thought of had it not been for the insight of Jet.

"I'm down… You're right, it does sound pretty interesting. I really can't see myself doing anything else in life at this point, so why not? Let's hear it then?"

When I turned for an answer from Vita and Somin, their responses were evident on their faces, and even though Somin had his eyes closed in thought, I was able to picture the excited glimmer beneath his eyelids.

So, it didn't surprise me much when they both agreed with both of the notions without issue. Somin seemed excited to show off his illusionary powers to the Hoenn natives, most of whom would have never met a Zoroark, while Vita was hardly holding back her excitement at returning to the tropical region, where Grass-Types thrived because of the high temperatures and sunlight. Despite her dour attitude then, I could tell they both enjoyed the Slateport Vacation greatly, and were visibly crushed when we had to leave, a few days after Axle hatched. Lavaridge, from how much advertisement had played it up, however, was supposed to be much better quality.

Jet, having proposed the idea, required no extra agreement, while Axle and Victor both gave an affirmation.

Axle had maybe seen two or three other Swamperts before, so going to the region in which his native kind resided must've been an exciting prospect. Victor rarely ever disputed and suggestions proposed, considering he was generally open-minded and cheerful despite the situation. If everyone else was in agreement, than so was he,

Content we'd made a unanimous decision, I concluded the conversation there. I then turned towards Somin, looking for any increased signs of exhaustion. Besides being a small bit more groggy in his movements, though, he was otherwise unaffected, and gave me with his trademark smirk, however sluggish.

Checking the clock, I saw it was past 11 PM.

"Alright, let's get some rest… I feel like we're going to have a long day tomorrow."

Vita nodded, "Perior."

"G'night."

With that, I laid back down, finding myself staring yet again at the ceiling. I'd gotten so little sleep over the last day or two, but I still was unable to settle down. There was too much to think about, too much to process.

Maybe a half hour later, I felt like I was finally able to shut my eyes and relax. Arceus knew I could use the rest.

It seemed, however, that the exact instant my eyes closed, the building began shook as an ear-splitting crash reverberated throughout the walls. The bed shook, as did the walls, jostling a few of the hung photos until they fell. My eyes shot open as the quake slowly began to subside, followed by the distinct sound of screams and glass breaking.

 _Oh no…_


	3. Persistent Paranoia

**l**

 **Chapter II: Paranoia**

* * *

I leaped out of bed before the ground had even stopped shaking, feeling much safer with my feet firmly on the carpet.

I whipped my head around to ensure my team was all right. Axle was rubbing the top of his head where a painting had fallen on it, while Jet was already on the ground and in an instinctive battle position away from where he was roosting. Victor was quick to make sure Axle was alright, while Somin, after gathering his bearings, shot me a look. Vita did much the same, but slithered towards the door and made sure it was secure.

"Was that an earthquake?! What the hell!"

There was still screaming coming from outside the room. I cursed under my breath.

"Alright! Somin, you're out of action, so I gotta return you. I'll head towards the lobby with Vita and Axle, help anyone out there. Victor and Jet, I wouldn't be surprised if people are trapped in the weaker parts of the building. Go and help them, and rendezvous with us when you're done. Go."

Everyone seemed in agreement. I crossed the room rather quickly and strapped on my belt, despite the fact I was still in pajamas. In one deft motion, I swiped Somin's Ultra Ball from the belt and returned the Zoroark, who seemed much too surprised to care about the fact he was being retracted.

Vita had since opened the door and was waiting for me out in the hallway. Axle was still rubbing his head while walking towards the door, but simply nodded when I asked if he was alright. Victor and Jet followed soon after, the Durant and the Braviary taking off down the corridor to the right.

The air around me was now very dust-ladened, though it seemed like no major structural damage could be seen. There were spots in which some of the cheap ceiling had fallen, but it looked like most of the damage had passed.

A thought crossed my mind right then.

"Guys, be careful… There's going to be a second wave soon… At least if I remember right, earthquakes have two waves."

Making sure I had affirmation, I lead the way down the hallway, nearly blinded by the amount of dust in the confined hallway. I heard no noise in the rooms I passed, and while I wanted to check on the people inside them, I knew getting to the lobby was more important.

As we approached, I could hear more yelling voices become more distinct. A red light was flashing, illuminating the dust every other second before going black again.

The voices up ahead were still growing louder. I recognized one of the nurse's, fearful and… Pleading? She was afraid, certainly, but it seemed like she was imploring someone. My concern grew worse as I began subconsciously breaking into a jog.

"I swear to god, if I don't get every single goddamn one you have, I'll leave nothin' of ya but a charred corpse!"

I was starting to get a general idea of what was happening. My pace only grew quicker.

In the lobby, the dust cleared considering the larger space it had to occupy, allowing me to see the scene laid out before me. A man, quite lanky and wearing a cap to conceal most of his face, was leaning over the counter and yelling at the nurse behind it. An intimidating-looking Bisharp stood next to him, while a Medicham strolled throughout the lobby, deterring any resistance from the few trainers who populated the area.

"I ain't got all night, bitch. Every single one. Now."

When the nurse tried once again to plead with the man robbing the Center, he simply snapped his fingers, cutting her off. In response, the Bisharp fired a hastily-made Focus Blast into the ceiling a few feet away from them. The room trembled once again as parts of the ceiling fell in clumps and created a new dust cloud.

I narrowed my eyes to see through the smog before quietly instructing the two Pokémon standing behind me.

"Axle, use Stone Edge on the doorway when I give the signal. We don't want this guy getting away."

Looking towards the area where the doorway should've been, I noticed all that remained of the sliding glass door was a gigantic, gaping hole. The thief had destroyed most of the entire front wall of the lobby.

"Just… Try to improvise. Vita, you got the Medicham. Axle, the Bisharp. I'll take the guy and make sure he doesn't have any other Pokémon. Be as quiet as possible, and don't attack until you're sure you can get a clean hit."

Though our vision was obscured, we still knew much of the scene ahead of us. I nodded, initiating the plan. Our main advantage lied in the fact they would have no idea we were attempting to stop them until we were already upon them.

Vita went her own separate way while Axle and crouched and approached the counter. I made sure to keep a hand on the Swampert so we could stick together until it was time to strike. The only noises in the room now were the pitiful squeaks of the nurse in the aftermath of the intimidating Focus Blast.

Following the terrified voice, I was able to discern where the thief stood. As I'd thought, his back was still turned as he came into view just a few feet in front of me. Exhaling in preparation, I tapped Axle and removed myself from him, getting into position.

"I swear to god," the guy said, reaching a hand down by his side. Following it, I was shocked to see a gun holstered. Before I could do anything, however, he'd drawn it and pointed it at the nurse. She screamed again.

"You have three seconds before I start shooting if you don't work with me here. Get all the 'mon you got healin' back there and put 'em in the bag. I'm not gonna ask again."

I swallowed. My throat was growing dry, and my teammates were no doubt waiting for me to make the first move. I remembered what happened the last time I tried stopping a man holding a gun and it made me feel sick to my stomach.

"One."

The man tapped the barrel of the pistol on the desk. I needed to act, but how?

"Two."

 _Oh shit… I just got to play this by ear._

The nurse wasn't moving, frozen in fear more likely than not. I narrowed my eyes and exhaled one last time.

"Thr-GAH!"

The pistol shot a round as I jumped into action, bouncing up from my crouched position and driving my right arm upwards into the man's own. As a result, the pistol was faced towards the ceiling as it went off.

Thinking quickly, I drove my left elbow into the man's ribs as I pushed him away. He fell on the ground, stunned.

The Bisharp, quick to action, threw a fist in my direction. Axle's gigantic hand, however, stopped it before it could connect. The Swampert waited just an instant before opening his mouth and buffeting the Bisharp with a scalding stream of water, pushing it back and on the ground.

My attention went back to the man, who had dropped the pistol on his way to the ground. It skidded along the floor and out of sight in the obscure cloud of dust.

I broke into a sprint as the man recovered and scrambled for the gun. He laid a hand on it, though only for a moment as I drove my heel as hard as I could onto the pistol and, subsequently, his fingers. I could feel a sickening crunch as the man's hand broke, despite the fact I wasn't wearing shoes.

Rather than pick it up myself, I kicked the pistol away further. It skidded completely out of sight, no doubt on the other side of the room and out of action.

In the time it'd taken to perform such an action, however, the man had scrambled to his feet, cradling his broken fingers. Using a free hand, and before I could send him back to the ground, he simultaneously clicked the buttons of three extra Pokéballs.

All I could do was back away slowly as the blinding light materialized into three distinct shapes, those of an Amoonguss, an Unfezant, and a Cryogonal.

"Unfezant! Clear the air!"

A blast of air hit my face as the bird-like Pokémon obeyed the request, flapping its powerful wings to push the remaining dust outside the gaping hole in the front wall. Vita and Axle had both incapacitated their respective enemies, but were now quite a distance from me.

"Both of you stay back!" the man yelled, enraged. "Or else your trainer's getting an Ice Shard straight to the throat!"

The Cryogonal made a robotic noise of affirmation. I froze in place, breathing heavily from my brawl with the man.

It was then he seemed to get a good look at my face. In addition, I was able to get a glance at his uniform and recognized it instantly. The long, black stripe running down the outer edges of a gray trenchcoat over a dark blue dress shirt. My heart rate only quickened further.

"Well whoop-dee-do. Turns out you stayed in Opelucid, huh, even after you saw yourself on television? Bet you heard Amaterasu went missing and thought we all just disappeared because of it. It was pretty hard to track you down until now, I'll give you that."

I should've guessed this was no common thief based on the pure fact he was causing so much havoc. Was his real mission to draw me out?

He used his one good hand to withdraw a radio from his side. He pressed the button and spoke into it, mindful of my two Pokémon on either side of him.

"Alston's still here, in the 18th Street Pokémon Center. I got him stuck."

A gritty voice of affirmation spoke through the radio in response, speaking words I couldn't quite pick up on.

"Copy."

He put the radio back in its spot on his belt.

"Look," I said, acting clueless, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Eh, even if you're telling the truth, I don't care," he said, snickering, "Return your 'mon. We're gonna do this as smoothly as possible."

I gave a sideways glance towards both Vita and Axle. They were both at type disadvantages here. The former was coiled up in an offensive position beside a knocked out Medicham and in front of a few younger trainers, no other Pokémon to be seen. Axle was still near the counter, and could probably knock the Cryogonal out of the way with a deftly aimed Scald if he wished, though I'd rather he didn't risk it without a suitable situation for doing so.

Seeing no other options, I grabbed two Pokéballs from my belt and rolled them on the floor towards the man. Smirking, he bent down to pick them up.

In that instant, my eyes locked with Axle's as I motioned down towards my hand. I had three fingers outstretched before I began to count slowly, retracting one for each count. My plan had to be timed perfectly.

The man picked up both balls from the ground as I reached one finger. He faced Vita first, and clicked the ball to return her.

Instead, the room lit up in yet another brilliant light as my count hit zero. Not a second later, Axle sent a Hydro Pump in the direction of the three opposing Pokémon, who seemed to line up perfectly for him.

Simultaneously, I jumped out of the way as the Cryogonal, as promised, fired off a miscalculated Ice Shard. I could feel the distinct searing of pain as a stray shard sliced through a portion of my calf. Despite being hit, the attack would've landed perfectly had I not leaped out of the way.

The light was soon to subside in the shape of Somin, who'd more than likely heard the entire ordeal through the ball. As Vita lunged forwards and connected with the discombobulated Unfezant, the Zoroark wasted no time in outstretching a claw towards the group of enemies, already encased in the telltale purple fizzle of illusionary energy.

By the time Axle and Vita had just started their onslaught, it was already over. All three remaining Pokémon on the opposing side began to screech and scream in their own native tongues as those who could grabbed their head in agony. It was a banned tactic of illusionary ability in battle, but this was hardly a conventional fight. All Pokémon were knocked out within a matter of ten seconds, leaving only the man.

Seething, I gripped my calf, where the Ice Shard had connected. A steady stream of blood was making its way down my leg, not gravely deep, but still enough to bring me mental discomfort. I put it aside for a moment, however, as I stood again, keeping weight off of the limb much in the same manner as Somin in his attempts to keep weight off of his own.

The Zoroark exhaled slowly before chuckling ever so slightly, swaying back and forth with exhaustion.

" _Not allowed to talk, but I'm still allowed to put 'em to sleep?_ "

"Shut up," I shot back, breathless with relief.

Before any more damage could be done, Axle picked up and tossed the two empty Pokéballs, Somin's and Victor's, towards me. I caught one in each hand, and before the Zoroark was forced to stand any longer, I returned him to his ball. Using the kinds of Illusions he'd exhibited as one of the most draining things he could do, even without having the extra strain of his injury. I'd had no other option, but he seemed to come out of it alright, at the very least.

"Axle, if you would."

The man began sprinting down the hallway to the left, hoping to escape down an alternate route considering our blocking of the main path. Right then, however, with no less than perfect timing, Victor and Jet came from the exact direction in which the man was running. It seemed they'd heard the commotion, and despite not knowing the full situation, rushed to the scene.

The man stumbled backwards away from the Braviary and Durant, now completely cornered. Axle hardly had to slam a paw on the ground in order to initiate Stone Edge, the perfectly-crafted stalagmites created a pyramid around the man in an instant, trapping him where he was. The fight was over.

The first of many residual stings of pain registered in my mind, prompting me to wince. Cursing under my breath, I hobbled over towards the countertop, finding the nurse on duty hiding under the lip on the other side.

"Hey," I asked, grabbing her attention, "you got any bandages?"

* * *

The police and medical crews to arrive on the scene shortly after the incident were quite surprised to find the threat had already been taken care of. But, as the EMT's patched up the horizontal cut on the backside of my calf, I found my mind elsewhere. I was being pursued.

I knew exactly for what reason, but chose not to dwell on it. Most of the last year had been filled with futile attempts in suppressing the bile rising in my stomach as a result, and I thought I'd finally gotten past it all. Where one head was removed, two more grew, I supposed.

Somin, Victor, and Jet, retracted in their balls, were hanging at my hip. I'd been requested to return them so the investigation into what happened could go on unimpeded. It wasn't as if there was much to investigate, anyways. Cameras had captured the entire scene.

Vita and Axle, on the other hand, despite suffering only very minor injuries, were with the nurse, being cared for in one of the specialized machines behind the counter for exhaustion. Giving a full energy store, as the machine was designed to do, would rapidly enhance their healing ability.

It was well past midnight now, and I thought only of how to respond to the turmoil that was sure to ensue. The man, associated as he was with the villainous group I'd thought to be extinct, robbing the Center was certainly no coincidence. He'd done it to lure me out and capture me, if my guess was right. More importantly, it was known to his entire organization I was now nothing more than a sitting duck.

Telling Drayden and seeking asylum with him and Skyla, when she would arrive in just a few hours would be the logical next step. Was the Dragon Gym Leader worthy of my trust, however? I wasn't sure it was a risk I wanted to take. Paranoia was sweeping over me like a tsunami. What if they'd infiltrated the government to avoid capture? It made sense, certainly.

A group with no name, specializing in the trafficking of Pokémon and illegal experimentation, was pissed and on my trail. How would Skyla react when she would learn what I had done, prompting their pursuit of me?

I couldn't bear to think about it. At least before this incident, I thought I could try and hide what I'd done from her when she did arrive. Now, however, I was given two choices if I were to meet her again. Either keep my relations with the organization a secret and risk my own safety, or deal with how she would think of me after I told the truth regarding what I'd done. No option was a good one.

And so, when the police had concluded their investigation and I was completely patched up, I released Axle and instructed him to retract his previously-made Stone Edge, still encasing the man in rock. The police were waiting to handcuff him as the thief fell to his knees.

He laughed for a moment before smiling up at me with a cruel, wicked grin. He was barely older than I myself.

"Better watch out, Alston. We know where you're at, and there ain't no escape now."

His words only solidified my conviction in the decision I made.

I was running away, getting lost, and staying lost.

* * *

The team agreed with my decision; none wanted to see Skyla in the first place anyways. Tensions were still high over a related incident a few years back.

By the time three in the morning had rolled around, I'd already packed my things. I was now wearing jeans and a gray hoodie, the latter of which I threw up to conceal as much as possible. In order to attract as little attention as possible, I'd also returned my team, an action not without objection. The limp I now walked with, in my mind, was enough indication as to my identity, and the only Pokémon I would even consider allowing outside in a situation like this would be Somin, who I didn't want walking or expending energy for any great lengths. His role in defeating the thief earlier in the night had been more than enough contribution from the Zoroark.

Slinging my hiking backpack over a single shoulder, I crossed the room to the window. If people looking out for my harm were near, I certainly didn't want to exit the center in the most obvious area. The plan was to hide in the shadows until I was far enough away to escape notice.

Thankfully, my room being on the first floor, I was able to let my backpack fall quietly in the bushes about a foot below my window. I followed soon after, careful to close my window and make as little noise as possible.

Crouching, I moved forwards as fast as I could on my injured leg. Ahead of me was a six foot fence, which I was able to clear using my arms and my good leg. On the other side was a broad alleyway leading out to a street. Trying my best to act natural, I traversed the alley and stepped out onto the sidewalk as naturally as possible.

The streets, despite being in the center of a busy town, were completely empty, which helped none in calming my nerves. If I was only able to find a cab to bring me to the bus station. I'd let my paranoia deter me from calling one ahead of time.

I started walking to the west; I knew the central bus depot was only ten blocks in that direction. There would be buses driving to Mistralton at this time of night to make some early afternoon flights at the gigantic airport there, the only airport in all of Unova to handle international travel. From there, I planned to have Somin create a fabricated ID card and passport for me in order to leave the country. I would leave virtually no trail, and none would be any wiser. A Zoroark's ability was very broad, and I was proud to say Somin had gotten me out of more than one pinch because of his unique attention to minute detail.

I'd made it two blocks before a couple of people, laughing to one another, rounded a corner and headed my direction. Trying to give as little attention as possible to myself, I looked downwards to hide my face further and walked as close to the curb as my gait would allow.

Out of the corner of my eye as they passed, I could see they'd ceased in their conversation and were looking at me oddly. It occurred to me then how suspicious I must've seemed to any outside observer. I swallowed; my throat was now very dry.

I straightened back out and continued walking once they'd passed. I looked to my left and down the street from where they'd came.

It was relatively populated, much more than the area I was currently walking. I was trekking adjacent to the Opelucid Strip, which if it was populated at this time of night, there was surely a cab available and waiting. Part of me wanted to hide myself in the slow stream of people walking as well should something happen.

Hopeful, I started walking in that direction; the people and lights were merely two blocks away. I could see, in the distance, a single figure deviating from the crowd and walking towards me. I brushed it off as nothing more than another passerby, much like the couple I'd seen previously.

We converged paths as I crossed the street and got on the opposite sidewalk, though I was now much less careful, learning from the suspicious looks I was shot from the couple. Much to my chagrin, the man, now visibly dressed in black dress pants and a gray overcoat, seemed to recognize me.

"Ray Alston?!" he questioned loudly, prompting me to whip my head as I passed him. I instinctively whipped a hand down by my side, ready to release Vita if need be. Was I really that recognizable, or did this guy know my face well enough to pick it up on a dark street and under a hood? Certainly, my reaction was a gigantic indicator confirming I was who he said.

"Wow! What are the odds?!" he broke out into rapid conversation in a city accent. "The name's Sylvester Saint, and I'm reporter for UGM. Wouldya like to answer a few questions for me just real quick? I actually stopped by the Center you were stayin' at a while ago, but none of the nurses would let me in."

He chuckled for a moment as if he found the situation hilarious. Looking behind me, I ensured nobody was nearby and listening in on the conversation. My first run-in with the paparazzi of any sort, and it just so happened it was a gossip magazine 'reporter' randomly strolling the streets at 3 AM. Hardly coincidental.

"Look, I appreciate the gesture, but—"

"Reports tell us that you single-handedly stopped a nasty crook earlier trying to rob a Pokémon Center and the trainers in it. Tell me what you were thinkin' when all that was goin' down."

I was quick to drop any ounce of friendliness I had for the man.

"Thanks for your time, but I really do have to go."

Before he could interrupt me again, I began walking at a quick pace closer and closer towards the more populated area just down the street.

A hand then roughly grabbed my shoulder, confirming my suspicions of the man as hardly genuine. I wheeled back around, backhanding his forearm as hard as I could.

"Ow, jeez, you got quite a hit there, huh?"

"Back off," I said, slowly backing away myself, "I don't want to be inter—"

A pair of much larger hands grabbed either one of my biceps from behind, restricting my movement. Quick to struggle, I was able to see a gargantuan man had appeared behind me. I kicked my legs up in the air as 'Sylvester' simply sidestepped and advanced towards me.

I tried screaming, but the larger man was quick to move one of his hands to cover my mouth. Where I could move, I tried reaching over my pelvis in order to grab the first random Pokéball that touched my fingers.

'Sylvester' beat me to it, reaching into his coat and drawing what looked like a mask from it. In one swift motion, he pushed it roughly against my face, prompting me to recoil back.

He grabbed my wrist and wrenched it in such a perfect way that I could hear the bones snap as it was broken. Despite the sudden pain flaring up, though, I still tried resisting the larger man's vice grip as he brought the hand covering my mouth back down to the bicep of my now-broken wrist.

Despite breathing heavily, I was able to hear the distinct hiss of a gas filling the mask. I then took a deep breath in and held it, hopefully lasting as long as I possibly could against whatever gas was quickly occupying the mask.

"Aw, don't be a bad sport now," 'Sylvester' taunted, taking his free hand and slamming it straight into my gut with forces I thought weren't possible from a man of his stature. Simultaneously, I fell to my knees and involuntarily breathed in the pungent air.

I lashed out again, wrenching my shoulders back and forth in futile attempts at throwing off the larger man behind me. Maybe if I could reach Jet's Pokéball, he would be able to fight off the men and fly me out of the situation. I'd thought in the past I was generally too large for the Braviary to carry, but it was worth a shot.

That first whiff of the mystery substance was starting to drag me down, and I could physically feel the effects on my mind. My flails became more feeble, and despite my best efforts to hold my breath for long enough to get free, I couldn't succeed. I made one, final attempt to reach down and press the button of a Pokéball, but I stopped as Sylvester swooped in and snatched all 5 balls on my belt.

I looked up at him and his small grin as my vision faded to black.

As my vision faded to black…

As my vision faded to black…?

Why was I awake? I could still see the light of the street posts through back of my eyelids, despite the fact I'd already fallen to the ground in apparent unconsciousness. I couldn't move a muscle, but I could still see… Was I really awake, or was it a sick joke played on me by my mind?

I heard the area around me as well, and felt as the two thugs took the mask off my face. They seemed to be congratulating one another on a 'perfect catch'.

A few seconds passed, and nothing happened. I had no misgivings pertaining to the fact my consciousness was still present, despite multiple intimations it would fade in the instants that followed.

Yet, for whatever reason, that wasn't what happened…

I was vaguely aware of a small, anomalous warmth inside my chest, but I paid it no mind, struggling as much as I could to not get dragged down further. I was fighting a losing battle. The sensation, however, began to spread, filling first the entirety of my chest before my entire torso, the point in which I could no longer ignore it. The feeling it gave was invigorating, to say the least, as if the heat was exciting the very atoms at my core. When it finished spreading within me, from my toes to the top of my head, I felt as if I was easily able to fight off the clutches of unconsciousness.

I opened my eyes.

I was laying, stomach down, on the gray concrete floor, my head positioned so that I was staring straight into the street, still in the open. I could hear 'Sylvester' speaking into what I assumed to be a radio.

"... 'im. Could use an extraction, though, I don't think I'll be able to leave without drawing much att—… What the hell?"

The sensation had started tugging at my body as if it were a rag doll, begging me to stand, so I complied, getting to my feet in what felt like an unnatural movement. At the warmth's direction, I turned to look at the pair of men, the one who'd been behind me considerable taller and more bulky than 'Sylvester'.

"I gave you desflurane!" he shouted, shocked, "How the hell are you standing?!"

I could feel a buzzing as my broken wrist began to feel hot with the concentrated internal heat seemingly focusing on that exact spot. At the sensation's simple direction, though, I looked ahead as I could feel my bones rearranging themselves, snapping back into place with a sickening crunch. I could see a bright, pink glow emanating from my wrist as the healing process finished.

The two men were both too shocked to respond. They looked like they'd seen a ghost, but it seemed as if nothing about my outward appearance was any different.

A large device in Sylvester's hand, one I recognized as a walkie-talkie, started buzzing with speech.

'BZZT' " _What's happening? Tell me! Do you have the target or_ —"

I didn't let the device finish. The pulsating heat coursing through my limbs tugged and lifted my arm effortlessly, my palm facing towards the flustered pair. Much to my own shock, I couldn't break myself from that position, forced only to move at the discretion of whatever was controlling me. I realized then I was simply listening to suggestion the entire time, and though I was conscious, I had no real control over my body. I was nothing more than a puppet.

If that were the case, what was controlling me?

The mysterious entity began to allow for the shift of the comforting heat within me. It felt like floodgates were closing and opening simultaneously, allowing for the sensation, what I took to be energy, amass in my outstretched hand while taking from the rest of my body.

Before I could object to what was happening, the pooled energy spiked one, final time, sending a harsh wave of air in every direction and sectioning the warmth in my hand off from that in my chest. My hair stood on end for a moment, as did the mens', before it passed.

A dot of light formed in my outstretched palm, slowly growing as I felt a portion of the warmth leaving my fingers. I had no control over it as it grew to the size of a baseball.

 _What is that?_

The men themselves, too submerged in awe of what was happening to process the threat until it was visible, quickly got the notion to run.

But, not soon enough.

The sphere itself, while seemingly having no physical effects on myself, was devastating to my surroundings. It shot towards the larger man on a parabolic path, too fast for its target to dodge or react in any way. It hit him square in the side, blasting him a good ten feet into the building on my left. His momentum kept him there for a moment before he slid down and landed on the floor in an unconscious heap. The radio device he was holding was shattered on impact, mechanical parts and broken black casing scattered amongst the cement.

I had not the time to fathom what in the world was happening, when the being, never relenting in its control of me, moved my legs forward without a word. I could only watch through my eyes as 'I' raised my arm again towards 'Sylvester', still sprinting towards the Strip.

I could feel the energy constrict within my arm as if someone had squeezed it. In response, Sylvester stopped moving in an instant, frozen in the air.

I could feel my hand begin to sizzle on the inside, not unlike the sensation of pins and needles. 'Sylvester', however, let out a deathly screech as he was hoisted into the air and began to…

Well, there's no better explanation as to what happened to the smaller man than to say he had completely disappeared within five seconds, the remains of the poor man now nothing more than dust drifting away in the wind.

Before I could even process what had happened, my world began to fill with pink streaks, rising from the ground and encompassing me. The wisps of energy grew lighter, and lighter, and lighter, until they were so bright they were white. My vision filled with white.

In the seconds that followed, a singular voice was all that existed in the void. A female one, certainly, sounding like that of a child. One could even call it playful, despite the gruesome scene that'd just occurred.

" _Sorry I had to do all that… Scary, I know, but I'm not about to let anyone else get their hands on you. I'm on your side here. Anyone bothers you again, and they'll have me to answer to. I'll see you again soon."_

Everything went dark.

* * *

"Sir?"

 _Unghh… Just let me sleep._

"Sir? The flight has arrived in Lavaridge, I need you to wake up."

 _What's she talking about? I just wanna rest._

I groggily tried opening my eyes and turning my head, enough to give a sleepy stare at a hardly composed flight attendant. Her hands were found clasping one another in front of her uniform shyly after trying to prod me awake.

My head hurt beyond all else, and it took a few seconds of empty blinking to remember why. I groaned with the realization, not quite sure what to make of the situation. On one hand, I was safe; from what, I wasn't sure. Then again, there was that being, whatever in the world it was, and what it did to me. I could hardly remember, but… Did I kill someone? How?

Where was I? On a plane? It would seem so. Seats were lined in rows ahead and behind me, all empty.

The attendant was staring at me embarrassedly, and after realizing she was still present, I mumbled a quick thanks before getting up on shaky legs. If I hadn't grabbed the seat back in front of me, I would've fallen, either back into my own seat or off to my right, straight into the attendant.

She moved out of the way, and after testing my ability to keep myself balanced and clumsily swinging my backpack, suspiciously placed on the seat next to me, over a single shoulder, I was off, stumbling at times down the fuselage and out the door.

I hardly was able to gain my bearings before I was submerged in a throng of people. I turned every which way, disoriented as one would believe.

I noticed then the items I'd been subconsciously holding, a passport and a plane ticket. Destination? Lavaridge. Departure? Mistralton. All registered under the name 'Ronald Thompson' and featuring my face.

 _What the actual fuck?_

I'd somehow bought a plane ticket using a fake passport I had no prior knowledge of, traveled across the world, and arrived all while blacked out.

I wandered aimlessly for a bit in the airport, trying to make sense of the scattered puzzle pieces that made up the events before I fell unconscious.

I was being attacked, undoubtedly in an abduction attempt by my pursuers, before I was put to sleep. But, only half asleep? The details were fuzzy, but I distinctly remembered some alternate entity controlling my movements and the supernatural actions to follow. It was female, and relatively aloof at that. It almost sounded like it thought I wouldn't be the least bit confused over the fact it made me kill a man using nothing short of magic in my eyes.

He… 'Sylvester'... Actually disintegrated before my very eyes, right after I'd flung another man into a wall with enough speed to crush him.

No, that wasn't right… If it was, how did I get on the plane? Did I black out, buy a ticket, and board myself? Did the entity continue possessing my body after I'd blacked out? How else would I have gotten to the Mistralton Airport? A six hour bus ride? There were so many questions.

Someone in a rush bumped into me just then, knocking me aside and disorienting me yet again. I figured I had to stop standing in the middle of the moving mass of people.

I began moving with the flow. Thankfully, no one seemed to recognize me as the world's newest eight-badge trainer, and I had no interruptions. I just let them pass by, staring through them in my trek.

I did know one thing, though, and that was the fact that I was scared. I caught myself, multiple times, looking over my shoulder to see if anyone, whether to kidnap me, take over my body, or who knows what, was following me. It almost felt as if I were alone in a haunted house, always on guard against an imaginary Gastly or Litwick that would pop out and startle me.

That aside, confusion was easily able to drown the burning fear within my chest. My head was starting to hurt from vain attempts at connecting all the dots, accompanied by a burning desire to vent out my frustrations until I could no longer.

In short, I had a lot to discuss with my team...

Finally, after a few minutes of searching, I was able to find what I was searching for: a Station. Pokémon Stations, commonly shortened to Stations, were designated locations within the terminal, and beyond security, in which people were allowed to release their Pokémon. I was more than willing to hurriedly check in with my new, fake name, and start trying to figure out what had transpired with my team present. I was sure, or at least hoped, that they would be just as confused as I was.

The area itself was fairly large, but not giant, as there were multiple other stations in the terminal. Regardless, populating the spacious area were at least ten other trainers, mostly with unevolved Pokémon, mulling about the grounds. Some exercised on the play-structures with their Pokémon, while others sat on the many benches and chatted with one another. The astroturf grass, while not in any way real, was nice to create a semi-natural setting, and a definite step up from tile floor.

Unoccupied at the time was a single battlefield near the back corner of the large room. Seeing as it was void of people, I decided on a bench in the general area and started to walk towards it.

More people would be able to recognize me here, I figured, considering many aspiring trainers would look up to those featured on the trainer channel, where I had been broadcasted. In fact, after giving a dejected look towards one of the many television screens set up around the walls of the room, I was unpleasantly surprised to find a few of them were actually broadcasting a replay of my battle with Drayden. Currently, it was showing Jet's fight against the Druddigon.

Instead of reacting, I just pulled my hood over my head, hiding as much of my face a possible. Sighing, I sat on the bench, placing my backpack on the ground a few feet away. After opening it, I grabbed and held five shrunken Pokéballs in my left hand for a moment, relishing the one constant I'd been gifted in the chaos and uncertainty surrounding the situation I was in. With a fake, troubled smile, I let all five all five fall to the ground simultaneously, each releasing their contents in a brilliant, collective flash of light.

The light hadn't even faded before a semi-formed shape merged from the rest, propelling itself into me and knocking me backwards, off the back of the bench. I lay on the ground for a moment, stunned, before the shape fully took form and color, when, with much shock, I recognized it as Somin. He had me pinned against the ground, an elbow digging painfully into my ribs.

He was snarling. At me.

This expression, though, wasn't one of annoyance, or even humor, as was predicted from the Zoroark. His fangs were fully shown behind a cocked lip, making himself look as intimidating as possible. A deep, throaty growl emanated from his chest, successful in chilling me to the core. I'd only seen this look a few times from him before, most cases of which I'd rather not delve into. He was out for blood.

The worst part of it all, though, was the fact he had a claw to my throat.

My mind's commands to the body were rendered useless when everything locked up. I was left staring, dumbfounded, at the now-aggressive Zoroark.

He blinked once. Twice, before his glare started to lose some of its vigor. His eyes clouded over in heavy confusion as the claw started backing away from my jugular. While his snarl lost most of its vitality, there was still a look of resentment in his eyes.

My heart's pounding was potent enough to create an incessant 'THUMP' in my head. I let out a shaky breath, one I hadn't realized I'd been holding. Formulating words was out of the question, as every time I tried to open my mouth, nothing came out. His glare might as well have been corporeal, as it was incredibly effective in keeping my mouth clamped shut.

Turns out, I didn't have to speak first, as Somin started a few seconds afterwards.

" _I want to know what the hell happened… Right. Now._ "

On instinct, I turned towards the general population of the Station, hoping no one was gawking at Somin's behavior. Before I could get a decent scope of the scene, though, his voice reappeared in my head.

" _Don't bother. I threw up an illusion as soon as you released me. What. Happened._ "

"I don't know!" I spurted without thought, making sure to keep my hands still at my sides, as to not agitate him. "Guys attacked me, something took control of me, no idea what the hell happened! I'm just as confused as you are!"

After finishing, I realized I hadn't heard anything from the rest of the team during our exchange. A small glance behind Somin revealed, though, that they were all knocked out. Every single one had been asleep since they'd been released. Otherwise, I was sure at least one of them would have intervened by then.

"What happened to them?"

Instead of answering my question, he continued in his own inquires. " _Where did Vita and I evolve?_ "

"What does that have to do wit—"

" _ANSWER THE GODDAMN QUESTION!"_ To accentuate his point, he threateningly pressed his claw back against my throat, to the point I could feel its cold touch on my skin, threatening to pierce should only a small bit more pressure be applied.

My eyes widened once more as I let out a mix between a grunt and a whimper, looking off to the side and clenching my eyes shut; anything to avoid his deathly glare. "Twi-Twist Mountain! Please, get off of me!"

I had an inkling at least one member of the team would know of what had happened while they were locked away, but I certainly hadn't gauged this kind of reaction. Behind the sudden fear of my best friend threatening to kill me was even more confusion, compiling on the mountain of questions I had intended to find answers to.

Much to my immense relief, Somin backed away, slowly. He stood, bent over so he could still position his claw against my throat, before removing it entirely.

I sat up and scampered away from my impromptu position on the ground to watch Somin as he brought both sets of claws to his face and vigorously rubbed it up and down in a strangely human-looking gesture of frustration.

" _I… Arceus… I'm glad you're okay. Sorry about all that; just… Shit, man, you scared me._ "

"I take it you saw everything, then?" I replied with a bit of chagrin. I certainly didn't appreciate the greeting I'd received.

" _Yo- You just disappeared. I had t-to watch you die… I… You WERE dead. I thought the person who released us was one of the guys who killed you and I just… Snapped."_ Somin sat down, his back facing me. His gaze was directed at Vita, but I could tell he was only staring through her.

I was fully standing by the time he replied; my eyebrows raised when he spoke. "What?"

" _You're okay though, right?_ "

"I- uh… Not really. A lot happened, and I haven't really had a lot of time to think about it. Just shaken up, bit scared, but I think I'm okay in body. We all need to talk, though."

" _Right,_ " he said resolutely, though I could tell his voice was lacking its usual liveliness.

Somin explained what he 'saw' from inside his Ultra Ball while we waited for the others to wake up. I still hadn't gotten an explanation as to why they were all unconscious, but seeing as Somin seemed to know, I inquired about it.

" _After you disappeared, I tried breaking out, kill whatever killed you. Goddamn ball wouldn't snap, so I was basically just discharging energy. Something… Else… Was where you were… I'm just… I don't know..._ "

"It was still me," I said, trying to tread carefully. I rarely ever saw Somin so emotional, and didn't want him to get upset again, preventing another overreaction. When I saw his confusion, I continued. "They used anesthetic to knock me out. I still don't really know what happened next. It was like I was possessed; something controlled me, and," I paused, sighing as I was forced to remember what happened next. "I think it made me kill them, just left 'em there afterwards. After that, it…"

" _It what_?"

"It talked to me," I said plainly. "Telepathy. It was a girl, and thought the situation was pretty fun. I black out there, on the street, and the next thing I know, I'm waking up on a plane as it arrives in Lavaridge. I came straight here."

I looked up, expecting some sort of stupification from the Zoroark. Instead, though, I got a look of indifferent understanding as he let out a small, " _Hmm_."

"That's it?"

" _Huh?_ "

"You don't seem really surprised about what happened, you got an explanation?" I questioned sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

" _No, but yours explains a lot. Probably blocked out your life force with its own when it took you over. You just went 'poof'._ "

I cocked an eyebrow, making no sense of his explanation, or lack thereof.

Noticing, he shrugged me off, saying, " _It's complicated. I didn't see much else, anyways… Whatever it was put us all to sleep before I could build up the energy to break out of the ball. I wake up when you release me and I just… Well, you know the rest."_

"Whatever," I sighed as I let my chin rest on my palm. "How're you holding up?"

Somin laughed for a moment, " _Dude, my leg hurts like shit right now."_

"Damnit, Somin," I sighed.

" _That's what happens when I tackle you to the ground, I guess… Nothing too bad. What about your leg?"_

My leg… I'd been hit by the Cryogonal's Ice Shard the previous night. Why did I no longer feel the pain? With all that had happened, I hadn't even given it any mind.

Curious, I rolled up my pant leg and removed the white bandage surrounding my calf and shin. After it was gone, I simply sighed and slouched my shoulders. No trace of the injury remained.

"I… Somin, what the hell's happening to me? The guys broke my wrist last night, too, but it feels perfectly fine now. I don't understand…"

" _Hey…_ " he said tentatively, " _Look, you're safe now, right? We're all still here, we're all still in one piece._ "

"Somin… I think that _thing_ is the reason you're alive right now. I know it sounds horrible to say, but—"

" _I know… It healed me like it healed you, and if it didn't, there's no telling where I'd be right now._ "

"You're taking this really calmly."

" _I had a hunch_ ," he shrugged, chuckling with a hint of bitterness. " _There's really nothing we can do, though, is there? Do we have a plan?_ "

I shrugged. "No… I guess at the very least we somehow ended up where we agreed we wanted to go after you healed, right?"

As soon as I'd finished saying it, silence fell over the both of us… Whatever had controlled me after I blacked out had known I wanted to go to Lavaridge. Was it spying on our group's conversation the previous night?

" _You're thinking what I'm thinking, right?_ "

"Yeah, it might still be watching now… This thing's been following me for at least a few days, then…"

We let that information sink in separately for a few moments. This was becoming too much to process.

"Okay. It's better we don't think about that right now. I'm going to get us a place to stay so we can figure everything out as a team."

" _With your name?_ "

I tossed the Zoroark the passport I still held in my hand.

"Whatever we're dealing with is also really good at forgery."

" _Damn… Probably better than I could do. This is real, too…_ "

"We're being stalked by a professional counterfeiter, taking over bodies is just a hobby."

" _People'll be less likely to recognize you here with only your face. But-_ "

"Still be careful, I got it… We'll talk later with the rest of the team and figure out how to move forwards."

" _What's the plan if it happens again?_ "

"A kidnapping or something stealing my body?"

" _Both_."

I blinked for a moment, opening my mouth to answer before realizing I had none.

"Honestly, I don't think there's anything we can do about it. If the thing that controlled me was benevolent, it should help me out again if something happens. It already did it once, and by the looks of it, it needs me for… Something… I guess all we can do is wait and try to find answers. Keep our guards up 'till then, don't go anywhere alone, that kinda crap."

After finishing, I raised my gaze to meet his once more, hoping for some sort of positive response; or any response in general. Instead, I saw Somin had turned towards the sleeping form of Vita, his eyes clouded and troubled.

" _Just take it as it comes, huh?_ " he voiced, not moving an inch. " _I guess that's how it's always been, hasn't it. And it's gotten us this far? I think all of us can take whatever's coming. One of the best teams in the world, right?_ "

I was about to respond with an affirmative when his words sunk in. I hadn't even thought about our team like that, and the realization I'd actually accomplished my own, and many other's life goal was breathtaking.

"Wow," I chuckled, feeling chills run up my spine. "I guess you're right."

* * *

While we were in the Station, I had made arrangements to rent a condominium, rather than stay in a hotel room, while we were there. I blanched when I saw a few more zeroes than usual when checking the balance on my bank account.

Being a trainer only pays well when faced with the last few Gyms. If I remembered right, I'd only gotten a 20 Poké prize for beating the first Gym. Now, after my battle between Drayden, I was a millionaire with no conceivable way to spend a fortune. I had no interest in settling down. It certainly was subject to thought.

There was a 6 hour time difference between Mistralton and Lavaridge, meaning while it would be 6:00 PM there, it was only midday at the present time. One benefit to blacking out for so long recently meant I was already acclimated to the difference. I must've been asleep for around 16 hours.

After being processing through customs and finalizing any other transactions necessary, I was out the front door of the airport, breathing in the humid, hot air of Hoenn.

It seemed tourism was the number one source of income in the city, seeing as a lot of the shops, stores, and more, were leaned towards that market. There seemed to be only one center of urbanization, and everything outside of that was either suburban or wildlife; and quite a beautiful one at that. Palm trees dotted either side of the building, and I was able, every so often, to catch glimpses of Hoenn-native Pokémon with their trainers; ones I had yet to familiarize myself with.

The air, surprisingly, was clean, given the world's largest volcano rested only a few dozen miles away. I'd found in research about the area that, due towards the constant, northward wind, all of the ash and dust was sent in that direction, towards another town called Fallarbor.

From what I gathered about the area, I was able to infer, though we were pretty far inland, that it was consistently hot and humid. While not exactly my preferred climate, I was happy Winter was soon to come.

Best of all, though, was the fact that there was green EVERYWHERE. The tropics surrounding the town seemed so luscious and alive, much more than Unova's temperate climate. Even if I would choose forest over tropics any day, it was refreshing to see something so boisterous, yet so serene.

In a matter of minutes, I was inside a cab and on my way to one of the many resorts in the town. The condominium I planned to rent had a very modern feel, white-on-black, boasting the whole 'updated' look. While it only had two bedrooms, a single bathroom, living room, and kitchen, it was more than enough to feel like home—for now.

As far as payment went, however, I became concerned as I handed the attendant my debit card to pay for the reservation. They didn't seem to recognize my name on it, but I was paranoid nonetheless. I only realized after the transaction was completed that my pursuers could potentially track my bank account and deduce where I was as a result.

Though, before I could give it further thought, an odd and certainly strange sense of wellbeing fell over me like a smooth wave of emotion. It told me not to worry, and after little mental debate, its odd thoughts became my own.

If I were to get in trouble again with the unnamed organization seeking my capture, the entity that'd protected me before would certainly intervene again in my stead. It would keep me safe.

I shook my head rapidly. Where'd that thought come from? Was it my own? Somehow, my thoughts hardly sounded if they were my own.

I blinked rapidly as I thought long and hard on the issue. The train of thought wasn't exactly wrong, but it felt so artificial in nature. I supposed, with the harsh treatment I'd shown against the two men who'd knocked me out, nobody would be very eager to begin chasing me again.

They, like myself, were dealing with something outside of both our realms' of understanding. By the time I'd finished my introspection, I'd made it to the front porch of the condo I was assigned.

I was pleasantly surprised upon arriving to find entertainment within the small area was boundless. The main room alone was situated with a pristine-looking Ping-Pong table, an impossibly comfy couch, and a coffee table filled with various board games. Much like the exterior, it boasted a modern feel, with a sliding glass door in the back of the main room to provide most of the natural light. I could see Mt Chimney in the distance as well, the clear day providing for quite the stunning view over the city.

I turned away and sat on the couch, reaching down for my belt and detaching all five balls. I closed my eyes, preparing an explanation as I dropped them all simultaneously.


	4. Restless Relaxation

**l**

 **Chapter III: Restless Relaxation**

* * *

"I'm actually really excited to try this out," I chuckled as Somin, Axle, and I exited the condo's private bathhouse and entered into a rocky alcove, fenced off from the rest of the area. For whatever reason, I'd waited a few days before trying any of the hot springs myself, instead enjoying the other attractions the area had to offer. Maybe it was my subconscious trying to save the best for last. The resort itself was styled in which the main building, a hotel, was home to most activities, while a few, larger-scale ones, including Rock Climbing and Pokémon Safaris, resided on the outskirts.

After those few days, I'd tried nearly everything the resort had to offer, the present day was meant to be one of relaxation, rather than one of exploration.

Jet and Victor had decided to stay inside, the latter of which would sink every time he tried getting in the water. Vita had a spring all to herself, an odd decision resulting from the awkward fact she happened to be the only female on the team and the lack of knowledge on how to circumvent such a situation. The three of us remaining took the other, second spring.

The spring itself was the size of a small pond, probably a good thirty feet in length. Steam rose carelessly above the water, mingling with the clear, cooler air around it. The ground beneath my feet was a solid igneous rock, red-tinted in color, and heated, yet not quite enough to feel uncomfortable. Around the spring's circumference were multiple, angular, rocky outcroppings, some large enough to climb on, which only went to further the impressive, natural scenery.

"Pretty nice dis—"

Before I could finish my remark, a certain Swampert had pushed past me and dove within the water's depths, instantly disappearing beneath the surface, and leaving a gargantuan splash in his wake. I stood speechless for a moment and gazed at Somin before continuing.

"Someone's excited," I scoffed. The Zoroark shrugged his shoulders with a smirk and motioned to continue forward.

Unlike Axle, I made great care in lowering myself into the water once at the spring's bank, instantly sighing in contentedness as my legs were submerged. The water was a perfect temperature, tingling my skin, cold by comparison. Somin, seeing my reaction, lowered himself in likewise, giving no visible reaction upon inundating himself.

By then, I had almost fully submerged myself, leaving only my chin above water. Axle still hadn't resurfaced, and I doubted he would for quite some time. No exaggeration, the spring felt heavenly, and I found myself giggling stupidly, trying to fathom how something could feel so great. I turned lazily in Somin's direction, the water successful in sapping my energy as it went to work in relieving the built-up tension in my physique.

"Feels good, right?" I asked, a huge smile plastered on my face.

" _It's great,_ " he laughed before dunking himself in completely. He resurfaced a few seconds later, his facial fur sopping wet. " _I've been in here before, though._ "

Suddenly interested, I cocked my head. "Really, when?" I asked.

" _Oh, a day or two ago,_ " he said, and quite hurriedly at that. " _You were out with Jet, Axle, and Victor, so I thought I'd… Uh… Try 'em out."_

After a few, empty blinks, trying to contemplate his sudden hastiness in answering, coupled with his flustered nature, before shrugging it off and forgetting about it completely. Instead, my attention was turned back to the spring.

I was able to, firsthand, verify the saying that Lavaridge's hot springs were, in fact, therapeutic beyond belief. I left Somin to his own devices as I closed my eyes and sighed happily, all fatigue and worry collected over the previous week disappearing down the metaphorical drain. I was quick to discover an underwater rock, utilizing it as a makeshift seat, in order to go completely limp.

For the first two or three days we'd been in the condo, Somin's attitude had been consistently dour. He always seemed pensive and expectant, waiting for something to happen. Even when we were supposed to be relaxing and enjoying ourselves, I would find him training; sometimes on his own, sometimes with Jet or Vita, but training nonetheless. I felt quite sad for him, to be perfectly honest.

Yet, for whatever reason, over the last two or so days, he was all but melancholy. He seemed extremely lively, ready to have fun, and actually enjoying himself. I brushed it off as someone on the team, probably Vita, giving him a talking-to. Maybe it was when I left them alone two days prior, the day he said he tried out the hot springs. Hell, he'd even said he'd indulged in the hot springs himself; perhaps they had a therapeutic effect on him.

I hadn't forgotten about what happened, despite my lack of constant thought regarding it. While I tried my best to enjoy myself, there was that nagging thought in the back of my head that we were all unsafe. Yet, after four days with no suspicious activity, I started slacking in my alertness, and truly started enjoying myself. Surely, with how secluded the condo was from the public, they would've tried something should their intentions be so narrowly set on me, correct?

It was apparent I'd dozed off, seeing as I was jolted awake the second I felt my head go underwater. My eyes shot open instantly as I felt some of the hot water make residence in my lungs. I was hasty in jerking my head towards the surface, coughing the whole way. With how out of it I seemed to be, I found myself lucky I didn't drown. A brief look at Somin showed he had followed in my footsteps, and was quietly snoring, his back propped up against one of the rocks jutting from the side of the pond.

Axle was still nowhere to be found, and I wouldn't be surprised if he had fallen asleep himself, underwater. Surprisingly, though, when I dunked my head to check, the bottom of the spring itself was too dark to see.

Unlike any hot tub I'd ever been in, I wasn't bored whatsoever with the water of the spring as time went on. Usually, I would get too hot or uncomfortable, and proceed to exit. Yet, I was still feeling incredibly relaxed, even after however long I'd dozed off for. My muscles seemed lethargic, and, to be perfectly honest, the water increased a latent feeling of apathy, heightening that, 'I don't wanna do anything' feeling.

So there I stayed… For two more hours. By then, I was starting to worry whether or not I'd become a prune if I'd keep myself submerged any longer. I woke Somin with a playful splash of water to the face, fortunately just as Axle resurfaced. He seemed to enjoy the spring most of any of us, given his affinity for the water.

I was walking out of the bathhouse a few moments later, a towel wrapped around my drenched bathing suit. I was about to ascend the stairs back up to the condo when I heard a few, annoyed grunts behind me.

Interested, I turned a full 180°, quick enough to see Somin's sopping wet form exit the bathhouse. He, in an imitation of me, had a towel around his waist, and was struggling to walk with it on due to his physique. His fur was plastered to his body, making him look twice as skinny as he truly was. That, combined with the fact he was leaving a trail of water behind him, caused me to openly burst out in laughter; and after figuring it out for himself, he joined me, albeit ironically and sarcastically.

Vita exited next, though, from a different entrance, hearing our laughter. After scrutinizing the Zoroark for herself, though, she turned away and started giggling openly.

I stopped after a few more seconds, and left them alone as I ascended the steps back inside the house. Victor greeted me upon entry with a happy click of his mandibles; I responded by crouching and giving him a light pat.

Jet was nowhere to be found, yet after a minute or two of searching, I found him screwing around with the microwave, pushing its buttons and staring at it confusedly as if it were the world's greatest invention. I didn't bother interrupting him, and sat down on the couch.

A peek at the tall clock against the far wall told me it was only 11:00 AM, and I still had the full day ahead of me. There were a few attractions at the resort, and Lavaridge in general, that I still had yet to take part in, but there was one in particular that had been nagging me from even before I'd arrived.

The view I had out the back window did little to satisfy my desire.

Yet, I'd held off, due to paranoia of what could be. The specific attraction I'd been pondering would require a few days out in the wilderness, meaning even more vulnerability to myself and my team. However, with not many other options, along with both a nagging feeling of desire for adventure, I finally made the decision the time was right.

So, I voiced my proposal to the team.

"Hey guys, you wanna hike Mt. Chimney?"

Somin and Vita had since ascended the stairs, Axle following behind, and were approaching me as I asked. What followed was a cacophony of noises, each giving their answer. I would have to wait, however, for Somin to translate.

" _You sure that's a good idea_?" he asked after a few more seconds, narrowing his eyes.

"Eh," I responded, trying to create an air of nonchalance. "If something was gonna happen, it would've happened already. Those people may not even know we're here, and if they did, they would've done something by now, right?"

He turned away, looking towards Vita as he continued. " _I… I don't know… Jet and I just don't think it's a good idea, is all…"_

Prior to my response, Vita inputted a few words, along with a reassuring (or so I thought) rub on Somin's back with a single vine.

"Hey," my voice lowered, into a serious, yet gentle tone, "we'll be fine. It's just a day or two, nothing we can't handle, right? Like you said, one of the best teams in the world?"

I forced a soft smile as Somin contemplated what I had said. He then turned to Jet, who shot a shrug in his direction in return, before returning to face Vita. With her quiet nod, he sighed, defeated.

" _Fine,_ " he said, crossing his arms, " _But we keep our guards up; there's no telling what could happen._ "

"Naturally," I replied, content with his agreement, however reluctant. Overall, though, I was overjoyed, much more than I should have been. I didn't know how to explain it at the time, but something just felt… right… about the thought of traversing the mammoth of a volcano.

* * *

I'd seen it at a distance from the airport, but it was a lot bigger in person. 15,000 feet tall, 200 miles across at its widest point; Mt. Chimney was certainly a sight to behold. We'd planned to take the _long_ hiking trail, one that would require camping to complete in its entirety. Hiking trails were designed ingeniously, snaking in and out of vents in the volcano's surface, enabling travelers to view the inner cavity as well.

We'd left only shortly after our conversation back at the condo; I'd gathered my camping gear (consisting solely of a sleeping bag, I'd lost the need for tents a long time ago), stocked up on a few healing items in case of emergency, and packed a bit of food before leaving.

After releasing my team and setting my eyes on the summit, we were off. The trailhead itself was situated at 8,000 feet, the bus ride there taking multiple hours to complete. The entire hike to the summit was approximately 25 miles total.

The first few hours went by as most other days would while in the Unova wilderness: in near-silence. We would have conversations every so often, but soon ran out of content to talk about. During those passing hours, I was able to start feeling the effect of the altitude on my body; we stopped to have a drink of water every so often.

As expected, though, the best part about the hike in general were the portions in which we actually permeated the outer shell of the volcano and trekked inside. Stone pathways were carved out of the igneous rock, giving a perfect view of the crater below, magma and all. The time that wasn't spent outside, enjoying the scenery, or viewing magma and sweating from the sudden heat-boost was in caverns, round and large. These crevices were everywhere in between the two, and we found ourselves walking through those most of the time. Most were the size to fit a large concert, crowd and all.

As we ascended, I was pleasantly surprised to find that, while outside, the cold nipped comfortably against my skin. Thankfully, though, there was not much wind, considering we were on the volcano's backside, but the mixture of cool temperatures and the sun shining down felt genuinely unique and comforting.

Vita, at times, had trouble traversing the steep, rocky portions of the slope, but was still able to clear them nonetheless. Even Axle, with his gargantuan shape and size, slipped a few times on the loose pebbles.

To be perfectly honest, it felt great being in the outdoors again. Sure, it was perfectly acceptable, and amazing, in fact, to enjoy the company of modern appliances and technology, all while relaxing; but after hiking over 7,000 miles in my lifetime thus far, every second I spent walking felt natural, as if I were intended for that purpose.

We'd started the hike later in the day, and planned to hit the summit sometime around mid-morning the next day. After that, we planned on taking the walk back down in a single day, boarding the bus, and being back home by nightfall. However, complications started to ensue.

First off, Vita got sick. It was probably due to the altitude we were at, but even if we weren't particularly acclimated, I found it odd Vita's body couldn't handle going as far as we were. On a notion from Somin, one quite worried at that, I agreed wholeheartedly to spend the night where we were.

As I'd explained previously, I hadn't really found the need for a tent in years. Most times, the sleeping bag I had (a quite expensive one at that), was all I really needed for warmth. For protection from the elements, we would usually make camp in a cave, as we did in one of the crevices dotting the trail. If the area was one without natural rock formations, I kept a tarp and hammock in my pack to sleep off the ground. Tents only made to add weight when traveling hundreds of miles at a time.

I was concerned for Vita, sure, but was slightly ticked we had to stop at six o'clock in the evening, rather than hike for a while longer. Most days of travelling in Unova would be spent until a late hour, such as that of 10 or 11; or at least until we found a suitable campsite.

With that in mind, I prepared a small dinner, consisting of some packaged turkey, ham, and salami. What mattered was the fact that it was quick, concise, space-savvy, and filled our stomachs suitably. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't bother to pack foods, instead scavenging the nearby wilderness for berries, meat, or anything else of the sort. Despite his active personality, one of Somin's odd favorite hobbies was that of fishing.

"Y'okay Vita?" I questioned as the Serperior herself, accompanied by Somin as they returned from another cavern; supposedly vomiting her stomach's contents away from camp.

She looked up at me weakly, giving a curt nod. Her entire posture was slacked, the front section of her body slouched, rather than upright as it would usually be found. Furthermore, her movements were lethargic, as she took big, long strides as she slithered, rather than short and quick jerks of her lower body.

I smiled weakly, attempting to give some sort of reassurance, before turning back towards my pack.

A few seconds later, Somin nonchalantly caught a full, unopened package of turkey, flung across the campsite by myself. He brought it down in front of him and stared at it hungrily, before attempting to open the plastic wrapping with his claws while I addressed Vita.

"You should eat something," I said caringly, "It's gonna suck if you try running on empty."

She stared at me oddly for a few moments before nodding thankfully and turning to Somin, who was close to impaling the wrapping in futile attempts to undo it. He finally gave up, instead piercing the packaging entirely, meat included, dragging it out, and eating a few pieces as if it were on a skewer.

Vita helped herself to grabbing a few slices, straight from the packaging still stuck to his other claw. Handling food was tough for her, without much to call arms, but was able to pin some meat in between two of her vines. She nibbled at the food indecisively, trying to figure out if it would harm her further.

Knowing everyone was set dinner-wise, I left them to their own devices while I tried to fathom what I'd do to entertain myself until it was time to settle down for the night.

* * *

Some time later, my eyes shot open, instantly awake.

It took me a few moments to find I was still in the cave, staring straight at the ceiling far above me. After gathering my bearings, though, I observed the rate of my heart and breathing; extremely fast.

The haunting call still lingered in my ears, ringing with every pulse of blood in my head.

" _Ray!_ "

I'd had a bad dream, I realized a few seconds after regaining rational thought. Everything seemed just fine in my mindscape, until, out of nowhere, something, someone shouted my name.

No, not anyone. I knew that call; I just hadn't heard it for a long time. I found it quite odd it was reappearing in my nightmares now, of all times.

I hadn't had that nightmare for years, in fact. To be sure it was a product of my imagination, I turned left, right, and returned looking straight up.

I sighed, attempting to decelerate my body's reaction to the fright, before rubbing my face to rid it of sleep. I could see, through partially-hazy eyes, both the outside and inside entrance to the cavern on either side; a quick look outside relayed the fact it was still the middle of the night.

I was still breathing slightly heavily, and knew I wouldn't get back to sleep anytime soon.

 _Maybe some fresh air will help…_

With that, I wriggled around until I was free of the heavy sleeping bag's clutches. I took the time to stretch my back of any kinks as I surveyed the nearby area.

Vita and Somin, as usual, were curled up against one another, a few yards away from where I slept not a minute before. Axle and Victor were nestled up against different sections of the cavern's wall, the former snoring softly while the latter twitched every so often. But…

 _Where's Jet?_

Even in the lax lighting, I should've been able to spot him, even if he was a distance away. I turned a full 720 degrees, trying to find any sign of the Braviary, for naught. Yet, I shrugged off his disappearance as something trivial; maybe he had the same idea as myself.

Leaving my pack and sleeping team behind, I took muffled steps towards the cavern's exit, the dark view of outside starting to come into focus.

As I'd imagined, the view from how high up we were, coupled with the starry night sky, was stunningly dazzling. I envisioned the small, white sparkles dancing harmoniously in the deep, black expanse they took as residence. Smiling, I sat myself down on some of the tough, altitude-affected grass that dotted the trail in sporadic patches, and turned further skyward.

Staring peacefully at the stars brought about a kind of tranquility I hadn't been allowed to experience over the last few days. By then, I was ready to leave everything behind; all of the worry, all of the strife and paranoia; it was all so close to disappearing for good. The multiple theories that riddled my brain were starting to become less and less important. The peace I felt in that single moment, when I knew we were doing good in life, brought confidence beyond all else in my demeanor.

Until, of course, it was shattered entirely.

" _Just because you're safe doesn't mean you shouldn't be on your guard, silly. Don't get too complacent on me."_

I yelped as I shot up into a sitting position, turning my head wildly for the source of the voice that permeated the peace I was feeling, but nothing showed.

Yet, that voice… It was the girl from Opelucid, if it could be called that. The center of my thoughts over the last few days had reappeared and disappeared just as quickly as before.

"Oh Arceus DAMNIT!" I screamed, proceeding to clutch my head. Was I starting to go insane? Was this voice only a figment of my imagination? No, how could it be? Why would it only show up at the most opportune times if it was?

Then again, there was what it told me, shoving any theories of safety back into the dark recesses of my mind. I still wasn't safe, even after all that. If this… thing… was telling the truth, I was still screwed over, no matter what.

My rage was still building, and quite rapidly at that. Present was frustration over what I knew, of course, but even more perceivable was my frustration at what I didn't know.

"How hard is it to give me some goddamn answers?!" I vented, slamming my fist into the tough grass beside me. It stung immediately after in response, so I restrained myself, seething.

I then heard a noise, the scraping of pebbles behind me. I swiveled my head fast enough to see a certain Braviary approaching, cocking his head in confusion.

Trying to keep spite out of my voice, I shook my hand through the air painfully, trying to numb it, while greeting him, asking, "Where've you been?"

He remained silent, gesturing with his beak to somewhere behind him. I blew it off, not quite caring; as long as he was alright, of course.

"I heard it again," I said plainly, exhaling strongly. "That _bitch_ who thinks everything that's happened is some sort of stupid game."

He, in response, narrowed his eyes menacingly, in a gesture I took as his form of sympathy.

"You know what?" I said, my anger starting to build up once more. Yet, I wasn't quite sure who my audience was intended to be. "Just when I thought it was okay to enjoy myself, just when I thought we were able to become a normal, functioning team again… It's all some stupid circle."

Jet turned his head, lowering his glare. He seemed extremely confused about what I was speaking about, but I continued to rant nonetheless.

"I'm not a goddamn puppet," I continued, "Maybe, if we all stopped playing stupid games, I would be a lot safer! _Maybe,_ this whole thing would be over and I could go back to doing what I was doing, and actually having a _good_ life, with _good_ adventures, not this SHIT! _Maybe_ —"

" _Oh, just shut up already."_

After registering that the voice had, once more, returned, albeit jokingly, I was preparing to start interrogating it when I felt myself start to get… Lighter?

"What the h—"

I was interrupted by a huge, blinding flash of light, shining a mix between pink and yellow, drowning out our surroundings. This continued steadily, to the point where I had to shut my eyes for fear of being blinded. The weightless sensation increased dramatically, only a moment before the light blinked once, and both Jet and I were gone.

What followed was a sensation, one extremely hard to explain. It felt as if I was being pulled fluidly through a funnel, my body compressing and decompressing before I landed on my feet, my momentum propelling me forward and into the dirt.

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was earth and rock, the same kind we'd left on Mt. Chimney. Was this the same place?

No, it was different; a quick and hasty look around revealed we were now inside one of the caverns, a different one than the one I'd set up camp in. I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out whether we had increased or decreased elevation.

" _You wanted to talk?"_ the telepathic voice said nonchalantly.

 _It's her! I can finally get some answers abo-_

My eyes fell on Jet, who'd apparently been transported with me. Teleportation, perhaps? Yet, when I saw the ghastly expression on his face, I grew confused… What was he gawking at?

I turned my head to follow his line of sight, and blanched when I saw what lay on the other side. I instantaneously took back any ill will towards the entity, wishing now, in the face of the creature that had plagued my thoughts for the last few days, I could swallow my words.

Standing, or rather, floating in front of me, was Mew.

 _THE_ Mew, previously existing to me in nothing more than myths and legends, as well as the random religious passersby I'd met on my travels.

" _Hiya! How's it going?"_

I promptly found myself on the ground once more, having stumbled backwards and landed painfully. I didn't even care to notice, however, instead scooting away pitifully in an attempt to put distance between myself and the literal god before me.

The spasms of my voice in that instant conglomerated to produce something close to a yell. Almost all of my questions accumulated over the last few days were instantly answered with the sight before me; but not without thousands of new ones sprouting in their place.

" _Not even gonna say hi?_ " she said grumpily, spinning herself to point her snout in the air snobbishly.

I definitely tried, but failed miserably in formulating words during my shock and fear at the time. "Y-y-you—"

" _Y-y-you—_ " the legendary mimicked, giggling afterwards, her good mood seemingly returning. She then proceeded to, much to my chagrin, gravitate herself even closer to me, tilting her head curiously. " _Everyone human's reaction is always the same; 'Oh Arceus, it's Mew! Run for your lives, AAAH!',"_ she said, spinning in mid-air while waving her paws above her head in mock fear.

"Holy… Y-you're Me-Mew…" I was finally able to spit out a perceivable sentence, albeit plagued with stutters.

" _Bravo!_ " the legendary replied, holding her long tail and spinning around once more. " _You wanted answers? Welp, here you are!_ "

"I… I… Somin, is this a joke? I swear to Arceus, I'll never forgive you."

" _Ooh, good one! But no, at least I don't think I'm an illusion. Do I look like one?"_

I remained silent, trying to make sense of anything. My mind was in fragments, darting from one thought to the next with no recognizable pattern or design.

" _Oh, I get it! You're scared because you called me mean names! Eh, I don't blame you, we all get frustrated sometimes. I got a confession though."_ She lowered her head, however slightly, before continuing. " _I deserved it. Part of me wanted to be mean on purpose."_ Her head was raised once more, to stare me dead in the eyes. " _But it was really funny to watch! You forgive me though, right?_ "

"Wh-Why?" I choked, failing miserably in lessening my gape.

" _Well, seeing humans get frustrated is funny… It's pretty simple, actually!_ "

"I-uh… No… I mean…" I tried turning to Jet for assistance, only to see he was in much the same state as I.

" _Why have I been helping you?_ "

"YES!" I sputtered, relieved I didn't have to continue with my miserable turn on the conversation. "I-I-I don't..."

" _Aww, is it obvious I need something from you? I can't just help outta the goodness of my heart?_ "

After that, I shut my mouth tight, not wanting to indirectly displease one of the most powerful beings on the planet further. Even if her tone was in good fun, I wasn't able to discern her real emotions whatsoever.

" _Hey! I have an idea! How 'bout we all just,_ " she exhaled over-exaggeratedly, tilting her head towards the floor in the process, " _calm down. Y'know, calm our chi, or whatever the saying is._ "

I remained quiet, subconsciously backing away in the process. Thankfully, I was able to focus on a single topic long enough to come up with a plan, however primitive. I traded glances with Jet, and motioned with my head towards one of the boulders populating the room. Maybe, if we were able to get behind one of them without the legendary noticing, we could get away unscathed.

Jet, after retaining what I had said, nodded incredibly slowly, backing away to a boulder of his own. It seemed Mew's focus was dead-set on me, when she wasn't lackadaisically spinning or giggling through the air.

Trying to be as quiet as humanly possible in my movements, I scooted backwards while trying to make some distracting conversation.

"Well, uh… It's nice, um… Meeting y-you and everything, but uh… We should probably get back to the team. I'll, uh, be careful, sure. I don't even care why now; I just…"

By then, I had almost reached refuge from sight, ready to duck behind the gargantuan rock when the legendary spoke up once more.

" _I can read minds, y'know… Part of being a psychic and everything. I hope you understand there's no reason to be scared of me, right? No reason to, I dunno, try running away from a god. If I wanted you dead, I would've obliterated you years ago, silly goose._ "

I cursed under my breath before turning my eyes to the Braviary, who had almost made it to safety himself. Seeing as Mew's attention was still turned on me, even if she was staring at something obsolete at the other end of the cavern, I motioned for him to go.

My reasoning for the command was, hopefully, he would be able to get some help. If worst came down to worst, the entire team might be able to weaken Mew to the point we could escape.

" _You're a slow learner, aren't you?_ " Mew spun around back to face me, tilting her head ever so slightly. " _Your Braviary can go if he wants, but I think you should know that trying to take me out will fail miserably, right? Either way, what was it I told you in Opelucid? 'I'm on your side?'_ "

Much to my horror, the legendary disappeared from her post in the center of the room, reappearing not a second later. The problem, though, was that my nose laid about two inches from her own. The large, bright blue pupils that adorned her face bore deep into my soul.

I tried screaming and scrambling away once more, but something, whether it be my own fear or Mew's psychic powers held me in place; I never figured which. My breath came out shaky and labored; I felt like ten tons of rocks were placed on my chest. Premonitions of what may have been came to mind: my body blown apart from the inside, torture and pain for my team. What would even happen if I were to truly anger a god? Those two men in Opelucid had found out for themselves.

Instead, her irises softened in a pitying gaze. " _Aww, you're terrified aren't you?_ " she asked, pretty much summed up my demeanor with a single word. " _Don't worry! I'm a friend!_ "

Still unable to speak, all I could do was scream in my head as Mew grinned mischievously and twirled around in the air once more. What was worst, though, was when, after finishing, she reached out a single paw, inching it slowly towards my head.

This time, I actually DID see my premonitions. In that 'life flashes before your eyes moment', I saw all the violent thoughts that could be. Blood splattered everywhere, all my friends dead, and standing above it all was the legendary herself.

 _Oh Arceus, please… No no NO NO NO!_

Pat…

Pat…

Oddly, even in my time of petrification, I was able to perceive how soft her paw felt when it made contact with my scalp. Did Mew just… Pet me? It was brief, after making contact with my hair once, she patted it once more, before leaving her paw there to rest indefinitely.

Even with it there, I found myself clenching my eyes shut, hyperventilating with fear. I'd learned, during my brief stint at school while I was young, about the legendaries and their role on Earth. Actually meeting one, though, was the stuff of myths; and now, possibly the second most important and powerful of them all was actually petting me… Like I was a dog.

Her form of comfort wasn't quick to work. Always, I'd heard about how fearsome the legendaries were, and the power they held. I could only imagine what would happen should that power be turned on me. Yet, to see one actually had a personality, and one of extreme aloofness at that, was mind-boggling.

I'm not quite sure how long we sat there, her paw resting comfortingly upon the top of my head. At one point, though, she removed herself from me. I was about to open my eyes in question, finally having calmed down enough to continue humanly function, when I felt two small, stubby arms wrap around my neck and bring me into a hold.

My immediate reaction was, once more, one of fear. Was she trying to choke me to death from behind? Yet, even after a few more seconds of petrified silence, I started to feel her embrace for what it truly was.

I didn't dare try to break it; I was nothing more than a puppet once again at this point, and wanted nothing more than to keep the god happy, if that's what she truly was at the time. A few more seconds passed, myself struggling fruitlessly to reduce the pace of my breathing for fear of passing out, when I felt another, fuzzy object press and rub against my cheek.

Reluctantly, I turned my eyes downward, not moving a muscle, almost gawking once more at what I found.

Mew, a legendary being, one said to have created all Pokémon solely from her own DNA; most likely the second most powerful being ever said to have existed… Was nuzzling me.

I immediately started stuttering once more, extremely uncomfortable with the contact. Even if it was in good spirits, an entity of this power, treating me as if we'd known each other for the longest time, felt amazingly and incredibly wrong.

" _You humans have weird thoughts,_ " she spoke up once more after the prolonged period of silence, " _No matter how many times I tell you I'm a friendly friend, all you do is go and have bad and scary thoughts about me. Even now, you're still uncomfortable. Why? Don'tcha like me?_ "

"N-n-no," I stuttered instinctively. "I mean… It's just a little, uh… It's a lot to take in. I haven't had a lotta time to process what's happening, and now you're hugging me, and… I dunno."

" _Hmm… I thought you woulda been excited to hear the answers to these 'very' important questions you've been asking yourself. But now you don't wanna ask? How does that work?_ "

Even if I had succeeded in reducing my breath rate, my heart was racing at a million miles per hour. I believe it was around that time I was comprehending the fact that I was in the presence of a _god_. And now, I didn't know what to do about it.

"I-I guess I'm just a little shocked, is all… It's n-nothing against you, I swear."

" _Oh! Welp, that's perfectly fine! You shoulda just told me. I can help calm ya down, if you want?_

"E-excuse me?"

" _Hey, relax, alright?_ " she giggled once more. " _Here, lemme try something._ "

"I… um… Wha—" I started, but was interrupted with I felt the legendary's presence behind me push past my skin. It wasn't a sensation I was even aware of until it was heightened, but all I knew was the fact that I could physically feel my heart slowing as a lethargic, comforting warmth spread through my being.

After careful inspection, though, I recognized it to be very similar to the warmth I felt while Mew's presence was exerted upon me in the streets of Opelucid. By the time all was said and done, however, Mew had retracted from her embrace against my spinal column and taken to flying somewhere out of my line of sight.

My breathing, much to my surprise, became deep and even, no longer flustered and rushed. Furthermore, my heart rate had slowed to the point where I could no longer feel it pulsing against my ribcage with every beat.

Oddest of all, though, was the effect of the power on my emotions; and more specifically, how it made me feel happy. I found myself suppressing multiple giggles, showing themselves for no reason whatsoever, forcing them down to the pit of my stomach. Unable to hold back a smile, however, I scanned the room for any sign of the legendary.

In my search, I realized Jet had, in fact, disappeared. I didn't quite care for the results of his search; whether it be finding the team and leading them to my location or not. I would be getting answers either way.

" _See? Everything's a lot better when you're happy!_ " Mew exclaimed. " _It's really weird, actually, thinking about it. I mean, when you think about how a little chemical change in something's brain can create a completely new emotion! Maybe it was intended that way, I dunno. Humans are all weird, so I usually leave that for somebody else to deal with._ "

I wasn't quite alerted to the legendary's location through telepathy, as the voices resounded in my head, rather than in the air around me, so I was left continuing to locate Mew. I found her after a few more seconds, nearby one of the exits to the cavern; one I hadn't noticed before. Getting up from my position on the ground, I dusted myself off and went to join her.

It was hard to describe the thoughts flowing through my head at the time. Deep down, I still held a small bit of apprehension towards the legendary's sudden appearance. Never had I thought I would meet one personally. And now, despite the fear I'd held, I felt content.

I ruled out hypnosis or other sorts of mind control employed in order to placate me. At the very least, I felt like myself. I was without doubt, however, that if she desired to take control of me, she would've done so. What was the point of having me be aware? Was I over-thinking the entire situation?

" _You like the stars, right?_ " she asked lightheartedly, glancing down at me one I joined her side. After asking, I rose my own gaze to take in the starry night sky.

"Umm… Yeah," I said, unable to hide some of my previous shock. Feeling the prompt to continue the small talk, however, I continued. "I like how different they seem here, even though it's the same sky."

A question popped up in my head then, one I hadn't even thought about in the chaos of the last few minutes.

"Uh… Ma'am?" I said awkwardly, not quite knowing how to address the legendary.

" _Excuse me? Ray, I'm a god, but it makes me feel funny when people call me that. I don't like it,_ " she responded, drooping her stubby ears and resuming her 'pouty' demeanor. " _I've known you for a while now, so why don't we just skip all that and call each other by our real names, deal?_ "

"Oh! Yes, yeah, of course," I continued as my face lit up in embarrassment. "How long have you known me for? I haven't met you before tonight, have I?"

" _Well,_ " she said, never relenting in her entertained stare at me, " _A few years, give or take… Remember Black City?_ "

Her own ardor, melded with my own, did not stop the dark thoughts and memories from taking the forefront of my mind. "How could I not?" I responded, my mood worsening, "First or second time?"

Mew was quick to notice my change in demeanor, and immediately dropped all acts and jokes. " _First time,_ " she said simply. " _I… I'm sorry for bringing it up_."

I didn't bother editing my own behavior to fit the change in her's, instead nodding, grateful for the apology. Had she seen everything, including what I'd done not even a year ago? She must've known then why the organization chasing me was so incredibly angry at me. I rubbed at my face frustratedly for a moment.

" _We haven't really officially met before, but you've seen me. Remember your trip from Black City to Icirrus?_ "

"That wasn't a dream?! I went to therapy for months because I thought I was hallucinating the whole time!"

" _Sorry but not sorry,_ " Mew giggled, " _I was only trying to make you feel better._ "

This conversation was going rather well, if only because it was due to her influence I was able to speak a coherent word. One, glaring question burned at the forefront of my mind, however.

" _Why have I been following you?_ " she finished my train of thought for me. " _Welp, a ton of reasons, really, but do you really wanna know?_ "

"Uhh, sure?" I responded, semi-excitedly, subconsciously bracing myself for what was to come.

" _Alrighty then! Let's get started!_ "

* * *

Meanwhile, a certain Braviary was looking on the scene with terrified reluctance. He couldn't comprehend what the two were discussing, which only went to contribute to his growing anxiety.

At present, the Pokémon was at war with himself, trying to find the best course of action. Should things turn sour, Ray would definitely need the help, and if he left him long enough to find the rest of the team, it might lead to him being too late to help.

Yet, on the other hand, Mew's behavior was odd, to say the least. He still didn't fully trust the good-natured attitude exuded by the legendary, but her actions spoke another story altogether. Maybe, he thought, the best course of action was to stay put, and hope Somin, Vita, or anyone else on the team recognized their disappearance.

Yet, there was a third option, one the Braviary was extremely reluctant to carry out. He could, instead of observing on the conversation with no intimations as to what was being discussed, take part of it himself. Yet, how was one supposed to approach a legendary?

" _Oh! I can help ya out with that one!_ "

Jet barely had the time to let out a startled squawk before he was teleported once more, right in front of his trainer and the legendary herself.

" _Yay! You stuck around! We should get you caught up too, shouldn't we?_ "

* * *

I had to suppress a small bit of laughter at seeing Jet, usually so stolid in his demeanor, instinctively back down from the more powerful being. It'd only been a few seconds after Mew spoke about 'getting started' when, out of the blue, she threw out, " _Hey, wanna see something funny?_ "

I certainly hadn't expected Jet to still be around, but was quite glad he did, in the end. It would be a lot easier to explain what was about to go down with more than one perspective in the mix.

" _Where was I?_ " Mew continued, bringing one of her forepaws to her chin in mock thought. Yet, when she noticed the extent of Jet's fear, a demeanor not far off from my own not a few minutes before, she paused.

" _I don't need to calm you down too, do I?_ "

The Braviary, not quite knowing what the query entailed, shook his head furiously, struggling to stop himself from quivering.

" _Jeez, why is everyone always scared of me? It's not like I've done anything bad, right? Well, REALLY bad._ "

"Cute exterior, feisty interior, I guess?" I warmly responded, proceeding to sit on the ground and beckoning the flustered Braviary to do the same.

" _Hmph, still cute either way,_ " she pouted, crossing her stubby arms and turning away from the both of us.

" _By the way!_ " she continued, addressing me with a rapid spin of her airborne form. " _I can, you know, get out of you, if you want._ "

"Huh?" I asked instinctively, prior to grasping what she was referring to; her power still residing within me. I could still feel the soft glow present, even if I was already habituated to its presence, and had completely forgotten about it in the minute or two after Mew had forcibly placated me. In fact, it was starting to become natural; and I was quite happy with how it made me feel.

"Oh, uh… I actually kinda like it, to be honest… Is it—"

" _Don't worry about it! I don't care either way, so go ahead._ "

"Thanks," I said, plastering a broad smile on my face.

" _Great, so we can finally get started?_ "

"Oh, wait!" I interrupted once more, causing the legendary's ears to droop in disappointment.

" _Party pooper…_ " she said, forcing a frown. " _What's up?_ "

"Uh, shouldn't we get the entire team up here? I mean, wouldn't it be more effective to have to explain this once?"

" _You wanna deal with four more Pokémon freaking out about 'Oh, it's Mew!'?_ "

"..."

" _That's a 'no' in my book. Here we go then…_ "

The legendary exhaled deeply, decreasing her elevation in the air to the point she could peer at me in the eyes as I sat, cross-legged on the itchy flora.

Her voice softened from its normally boisterous tone as she spoke. " _Like I told you, I've been watching you for almost three years now. I forget why I started looking after you, but I'm a sucker for underdogs, if you know what I mean."_

" _I really DO need you for something, Ray, but I had to make sure you were the best fit for me. So, as you may or may not have figured out, I've been watching you ever since, seeing your reactions to everything gone wrong in your life._ "

" _I ended up really enjoying following you on your adventures, and came to appreciate your company, even if you didn't feel the same. Finally, though, I made my decision. Following what happened to Somin in Opelucid, I was beyond any doubt of what I wanted to do. I had to protect you until I figured out how to break the news; hence the incident with the two guys in Opelucid._ "

"Umm, okay?" I voiced, for lack of better wording. "But, you said there's something you need _me_ to do. Why do you want to be friends, Mew?"

" _Yes, there's something…_ " she replied solemnly. " _Understand, though, like I said, I really enjoyed your company. Even now, if I didn't need you, don't take it the wrong way when I say you're an interesting human, and would probably follow you around anyways at this point. But, as weird as it is for someone like me to say, I wouldn't trust any other human to do this…_ "

"What is it?"

The legendary sighed, giving a small glance out of the corners of her large eyes towards Jet, who had since calmed down, but still exhibited signs of discomfort.

The ambiguity of the entire exchange was cause for frustration on my end, but I tried toning it down, knowing Mew could read me without any effort whatsoever. Instead, I tried focusing on what she had said about me in particular. Who would've ever thought a legendary would take a liking to me, of all people? There were tons of others who treated their own teams in much the same manner; what made me so special among them?

However, all speculations were lost, instantly shattered with the jumble of rushed thoughts that came to me as Mew voiced her intentions.

" _I need you to be my trainer._ "

 _..._

"... Excuse me?"

" _I know you heard me correctly, Ray."_

"B-but… What? Why?"

" _Ray?_ "

"M-Mew, I don't know if…" I said, shocked, turning away from the feline. My heart started racing once more.

" _And why's that?"_ she responded, filling in the rest of my sentence for me, tilting her head. " _Don't you like me?_ "

"I… I…" I turned to Jet for help, only to find he was staring up at the legendary with wide eyes. Was that a glimmer of excitement I spotted?

"You're a GOD!" I spurted out without thought.

Her spirit and its effects were instantly lost upon me, easily drowned out with the panic my mind was sent into.

" _And you're a human… Not quite sure what point you're trying to prove. It's all irrelevant,_ " she responded, much to my chagrin. " _I chose YOU. Even if I am a god, I trust you more than enough to do something like this for me._ "

"I… I don't. Why?! Why would someone like you need a trainer?! It doesn't make any sense!"

" _And what if I just wanted to be friends with you?"_ she responded, ignoring my question.

No. I couldn't do it. Here I was, with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and with the complete disarray my mind was sent into, as a result of surprise, easily clouded my judgement. I'd heard stories of the trainers who would go any length to catch a legendary; people who devoted their whole lives to the task. But now, one was offering _itself_ to me, and I couldn't fathom the proper way to answer.

"Oh, Arceus, how would the team react? How would the world react? There's no telling what could happen! It would put me in even more danger! If the group chasing me got wind of me having Mew, there's no telling what they would to next!"

" _Ray, calm down please._ "

"And then there's the league! What would they say when they figured out I caught Mew?! I'd be bombarded nonstop with reporters, and trainers, and—"

" _Ray…_ "

"I… I can't…" I finished. "I'm sorry, Mew… I just… I have to go."

" _You're not leaving, Ray."_

I'd since stood and turned away from the legendary, but those few words spun me back around. "What?"

The anxiety I'd started feeling was instantly vanquished, replaced by a reinforced, happy warmth threatening to consume me altogether.

I tried resisting… This was her attempt at bending my judgement. She was exuding herself upon me once more, forcefully this time.

" _You have to understand,_ " her high pitched voice sounded, now somewhat desperate. " _I really, really need you, Ray… Please. I'm in trouble… I need someone, and even though you don't know me, I_ —"

"Get…" I struggled to say, combatting with her power. I was putting up a futile fight. "Get… Out of…"

" _Oh! Right!"_

I gulped in air and coughed as she receded from my system, noticing the legendary back away sullenly.

" _Damn it… I'm sorry. I didn't mean for…"_

"Mew…" I interrupted, staring up at her. "You saw… Everything? Everything I did since Undella?"

" _Yes? What do you want me to say, Ray? I told you I was watching you._ "

"Everything in Black City… And you still think I'm alright?"

" _What?_ " she spun around. " _Ray, you're awesome! I felt bad for you more than anything else! I saw how much it hurt you… To do what you did… You care, Ray… It's why I chose you, out of the millions of humans in this world. You're the one."_

I stopped dead, keeping my stare dead-on the legendary's large eyes. Jet was too surprised to move, and was where I'd seen him previously. He gawked at the feline alongside me.

" _Now, should I give you some time to mull it over?_ " she asked, starting to turn around. A hint of her joviality returned.

"No!" I shouted, and a bit too enthusiastically at that. I had no way of telling whether Mew's influence had clouded my judgement once more in her favor, or simply cleared the fog weighing down my own. If anything, her speech invoked a quiet sense of contemplation.

"I just… I can't wrap my head around it. I have so, so many questions."

" _Well, I kinda know I'm not the best at introductions… I probably shoulda given you more time to process something this big… I forget sometimes how I'm given a reputation in your society as, well… A god. I mean it when I say this, take all the time you need to process this.._ "

"Why do you need me to be your trainer? You said you're in trouble Mew… What kind of thing scares something like you? Is my team going to be in danger?"

She stopped, sending a reluctant gaze down at me. Had I said something wrong?

" _Just… Know that there's some really, really bad stuff going on, and I could use some insurance. Might as well have it be from a friend. I want to tell you what, but even I don't know what the problem is. They just started disappearing. As long as I'm with you, though, I promise you'll be alright. We would protect each other._ "

"You need protection from _me_?" I asked, laughing in order to try to lighten the somber mood. It was obvious she felt uncomfortable addressing the topic. I didn't want to press her any further. The fact I was speaking to a god was not lost on me. "That's got to be one of the weirdest things I've ever heard."

" _It's true though,"_ she responded, flattening her ears as her face shone a light shade of red in embarrassment from behind her pink fur.

Now that I had the time to rationally think about an answer to her offer, I did so thoroughly.

This was a once in a lifetime opportunity, to make real change in the world. Whatever she needed my assistance for through her capture, it was obviously important, if her reluctance to tell me was any indication. Furthermore, I didn't even have to make her presence known to the public. Though, I doubted she'd want to be cooped up in a ball, either.

Yet, all I'd said in my terrified frenzy was still applicable. It would be extremely difficult to mask her presence, and it could make me an even larger target. However, if I were to have Mew by my side, that alone would pretty much guarantee my team's safety.

Was this really a responsibility I wanted to take on? I would never be able to live a normal life again, but it wasn't as if any aspect of my lifelong journey would ever be normal after tonight. Perhaps this was the way to go in the future, in pursuit of adventures and travels beyond what I thought previously possible.

I gave it a few more seconds of thought, sighing offstandishly when finished. I'd made my decision.

"Mew?"

" _Yeah?_ " she asked. She'd apparently had her attention on Jet, and was apparently having a conversation with the now-calmed Braviary when I interrupted.

I sighed one last time, averting my eyes from the legendary.

"I want to accept, I really do, but I… I need time to think."

* * *

"Ray?"

A drowsy Serperior lifted her head, eyelids half-closed, trying to catch a glimpse of her trainer in the pitiful natural lighting. Yet, for whatever reason, he wasn't where he'd fallen asleep.

She became instantly alert upon finding the human missing, and frantically stole looks of the cave's entire area.

"Somin," she hissed, "Wake up!"

The addressed Zoroark was almost immediately at attention, startled into awakening. He blinked sleepily for a few moments before scanning the room himself. His enhanced vision in the dark allowed for a brief search that yielded nothing.

"Jet's gone too," he seethed. "I knew we shouldn't have come up here."

He was quick to separate himself from the Serperior and start sprinting towards the cavern exit. He quickly shot back an order to the Serperior using telepathy.

" _Get Axle and Victor ready. I'm gonna start— what the hell?_ "

Somin stopped dead at the sight that beheld him upon stepping into the freezing night air. The wind whipped around him violently at different intervals, battering his fur and sending his mane flowing every which way as if it were a mere flag.

Yet, his attention was on none of the above. Instead, his eyes were dead set on another part of the mountain, further uphill. The way the earth was shaped, he could see up the mountain, albeit across a small ridge, without looking directly up the slope.

The sight that met him did not reassure him in the least. A dazzling, amorphous pink light was radiating from a specific point, very large in width. It seemed volatile, shifting violently and consistently.

Distant booms could be heard as the energy lashed out at multiple targets, the force shaking the ground beneath the Zoroark's paws.

He was off, sprinting towards the anomaly without second thought.


	5. Destructive Ambition

**l**

 **Chapter IV: Destructive Ambition**

* * *

"Mew, you okay?"

" _Huh?"_ she responded, breaking out of whatever stupor she was stuck in. Upon staring down into her eyes, I could see the area around them were slightly damp.

"Are you crying?"

" _No…"_

"I… I'm sorry, Mew, but I can't give you a yes or no yet… I'm still trying to process everything. It's… It's a lot."

" _Right…_ "

"Hey… I don't want you to leave, though. I know I sound selfish, but…"

Mew turned towards me expectantly. She looked like a lost kitten in that moment, making me feel incredibly guilty.

"I want to get to know you better, Mew, and I'm not gonna be able to do that if you just disappear again. So, if you're not too angry at me for not accepting, I'd really appreciate it if you'd stay with us for a while."

She remained quiet for a moment in contemplation. After a bit of time, she sighed.

" _C'mere._ "

I froze in suspicious anticipation. Was she angry at me? What was her plan?

" _I'm waiting."_

Her tone held a slight hint of excitement. Gulping, I plodded forward, allowing the legendary to place her paws upon my forehead. I clenched my eyes shut and said nothing. All I focused on was my own struggle to slow my breathing.

Then I felt it…

The soft glow of her power was dim no longer. Steadily, it felt as if a fire ignited in my chest. This time, however, I chose to accept it, rather than fight her influence.

The fire began burning, the residual heat flooding my system with the bubbly, elated feeling I'd correlated with her power.

" _Ray, what's in you right now is yours to keep._ " her soft voice cut through my thoughts. " _It's only an extremely small fraction of my power, but it's more than enough to give you an energy core of your own, so you can make more and get used to it over time. If something happens and I'm not around, you're gonna need it. It's yours, even if you don't want me to stick around in the future._ "

She withdrew, leaving me behind and under the drug-like effects of her power. Everything felt so… Delightful. I was filled with spontaneous happiness, and it felt like my own. The warmth rendered me as weightless, my mind cleared to a point I'd never been able to achieve before.

I opened my eyes, laughing stupidly. "Mew… This… This is just…"

" _A gift from a friend,_ " she finished for me, spinning in mid-air lazily. " _Of course, there's more to come should you accept my proposal, but that's your decision to make in your time. Until then, I think I'll hang out with you guys. You're right. Introducing myself like this to you really sucked._ "

"Th-this is… Mew, I have no idea how to repay you."

" _Here, lemme tell you a secret,_ " she responded mysteriously, giggling and lowering herself once more to my height. She gave a joking look around, as if someone was spying on her, before beckoning me towards her.

All I did in response was lean forward slightly, allowing the legendary to move towards the side of my head, and more specifically, my ear.

"You already have," she whispered, barely audible to me. Yet, her voice held a physical quality to it; she wasn't using telepathy just then. Could I understand her native tongue?

I was about to ask her what she meant by the vague statement when I first heard it.

 _BANG!_

The sound was instantaneous, causing me to jump from where I stood. It faded a few moments later, echoing off of the surrounding caverns before leaving behind the dead silence of night.

I saw it then… Floating not a few inches in front of my forehead, behind me from where I originally sat, was a bullet. Stunned for a moment, I stepped out of its intended path.

"W-what the hell?"

" _Oh boy, here we go."_

I turned towards the legendary herself, presumably responsible for levitating the projectile just inches from my face. Her voice had lost all sense of relaxation, leaving only a tone I wished to not have heard from the legendary.

No words came out of my mouth, other than small stutters and the occasional 'Uhh'. What had just occurred? Was I… Shot at? I blinked for a few moments.

 _BANG_

Another bullet seemingly materialized from nothing in front of me, surrounded in a pinkish tint Mew'd just caught yet another shot, saving my life yet again.

" _Snap out of it, Ray! It's the same people from Opelucid."_

"H-How'd they find me?!"

" _That's the question you're asking?!_ "

She, by then, bore a wicked scowl on her face, her entire body was now coated in a thick, yet near-transparent layer of psychic energy.

I was still trying to fathom the sudden turn of events, torn away when I saw an anomaly take place a few dozen yards away.

A man, a fully-grown man, was being levitated out of from behind the rock pile he seemed to have been hiding behind. The lack of object responsible for the lifting lead me to believe Mew's psychic abilities was the source.

He dropped a rifle while he was suspended in the air. It was apparent the man was in pain or extremely afraid, evidenced by his writhing in the air.

" _Ray, you're to stay behind me, understand? This isn't the only one._ "

"Can't you just teleport us out of here?!"

" _All they're gonna do is keep finding a way to follow us. It's better if I send them a real message, here and now.._ "

Before I could ask anything more, she spoke again.

"I-I thought you were gonna keep us safe!"

" _Nothing's gonna touch you. Got me? It'll be like a battle, I'll do all the hard stuff._ "

I gulped, seeing no other option than nodding quickly.

" _Let's get started, then,_ " the legendary broadcasted; I wouldn't be surprised if it were to everyone in the vicinity. An intimidation tactic, maybe?

What _did_ surprise me, though, was in the instant Mew flicked her wrist, the two levitating bullets under her control whizzed back in the direction they came, multiple times faster than the gun that propelled them initially. I watched as the pieces of metal, coated with a pinkish aura, entered the levitating man's skull, the succeeding force enough to blow his gray matter out yards behind where he floated.

I nearly retched at the sight, but was halted by the adrenaline coursing through my veins. I stared at the legendary incredulously for a moment or two, trying to fathom her rapid change of behavior, and what showed to me as plain bloodlust.

" _Doin' okay so far?_ " she asked nonchalantly, floating lackadaisically around me as if nothing were wrong. It did little to reassure me.

"Umm… No?"

Reading my mind, the legendary addressed me as she continued to get a scope of the scene. " _You gotta understand Ray, this is necessary. Blood is only a liquid, not magic or sacred or anything like that_."

I nodded weakly, feeling lightheaded and nauseous about what I'd just witnessed. I tried steering myself back to the task at hand, but the anxiety only contributed to my queasiness.

I didn't bother replying further, subconsciously turning to look at the one visible corpse every so often. It wasn't the first time I'd seen death, no, but it was still extremely unpleasant.

 _BOOM_

I let out another, startled yelp as a gargantuan crash resounded from my right; different from a gunshot. Turn out, the source was an extremely powerful dark pulse, colliding with a barrier Mew had made with psychic energy.

Three times in the last thirty seconds she had saved my hide, and that was nowhere near the end of it.

I was faintly aware of the ground starting to shake. I had a fairly good idea of the source, and was confirmed when I turned my head to see an entire hoard of Pokémon, massing in more numbers than I could count, sprinting towards our position in a wide arc.

A brief, terrified look revealed most of the creatures present were dark types; I could feel Mew's annoyance coming off of her in waves.

" _Scratch that,_ " she said, raising her telepathic voice to match the uproar. " _I don't wanna deal with all this. It woulda been a ton easier if it was just one or two guys thrown at us, but they really went all-out, huh?"_

Did… Did Mew take this as one giant game? She didn't seem in the least bit concerned. Meanwhile, I was juggling both between my now terrified nature and the fact that Mew seemed to _enjoy_ the danger we now found ourselves in.

Before I could say anything further, though, she floated down towards the both of us. Not quite in the most patient manner, she picked up and carried Jet towards me with her psychic ability. Now, she was able to reach each of her stubby arms out and touch us both simultaneously.

Nothing happened. For the first time, the legendary's confidence broke, if only slightly. Despite the nonchalant demeanor she threw up, I was able to pick up on the small traces of worry in her telepathic voice.

" _Well then… Using Mean Look so I can't get away is pretty cheap. I guess I'm just have to fight my way out, huh? What a bother._ "

She readdressed the two of us as she floated up and away, a few feet towards the oncoming stampeding horde.

" _Jet, can you do me a favor and fly Ray outta here? Go somewhere and just sit tight for a little bit until I come and pick you up. This'll be quick._ "

With that, she completely disappeared from sight, leaving me fumbling for words. Everything was going too fast for my comprehension. I supposed that was the goal of an ambush, after all. Fearful, I turned towards Jet. The Braviary sent a glance towards me.

The horde was ascending the steady hill now, the hill in which I stood. I wasn't exactly in a position to question Mew's authority here, but she seemed rather comfortable with giving orders. I'd nearly forgotten she was a god altogether with her casual approach in meeting me.

I knew one thing, however, and that was I didn't want to stick around for the aftermath of what was yet to happen.

"You sure you can carry me?" I asked shakily, looking back on the torrent of aggressive Pokémon with terrified anxiety.

Jet, with no other answer, shrugged in uncertainty. Nevertheless, he positioned himself to allow my ascent on his back.

It was a tight fit, of course, and was near-impossible to stay stationary without affecting his wings' range of motion, but there was nothing to be done. I myself was taller than the Braviary, and generally unknowing of how he would proceed to take flight.

Despite the situation, I whispered a quiet, "Good luck," under my breath, hoping Mew would get the message. Despite her odd behavior and tendencies to violence, she was putting herself on the line to protect me. Despite the fact I'd known her for less than a half an hour, I found myself concerned. Perhaps it was her energy within me affecting my emotions.

With that disturbing thought, I gave Jet an affirmative. He began running awkwardly, jumping at random intervals to hopefully catch air under his wings. Strength wasn't the issue here; it was the mere fact I couldn't help but obstruct him.

He changed course suddenly, choosing to run further up the path. I was about to question what he was doing when he took a sharp turn to the right. I held on tight as he legitimately leaped off the side of the path, spreading his wings before he could hit the ground of the steep cliffside below.

We were in the air now, the hard part was out of the way, wasn't it? Nonetheless The next few moments were absolute chaos. What amounted to around a minute went by in what I could've sworn was a few seconds.

Their true target now airborne, the Pokémon below started throwing attacks in our general direction, hoping to bring us down. Dark Pulses, Energy Balls; any projectile they could conjure. The Braviary only narrowly dodged a Hyper Beam; I could feel it's passing heat on my arm.

In the next moment, a well-placed Swift, notorious for never missing, was hurtling towards us at lightning-fast speeds. As the star-shaped energy approached nearer and nearer, I braced for impact. As it connected, Jet faltered ever so slightly, but the attack thankfully didn't have the potency to bring him down.

Amidst the chaos, holding onto Jet proved near-impossible. The only reasonable handhold was around his neck; choking him when he made a maneuver to dodge. My lower half was hanging off of the Braviary altogether.

I looked with fear back down at the scene below us Mew had reappeared, now shining with an ever-intensifying light. I had to look away after a moment, considering now it was much too painful to look at the legendary directly. She seemed too engaged in what she was doing to follow us out. Part of me wondered why she simply didn't fly alongside us.

My theory regarding the legendary's bloodthirstiness was only given more leverage.

 _BANG_

"Ah, shi—" I started to seethe as I felt the bullet enter my lower right thigh. Instantly exploding in a flare of pain, I was caught off-guard, and instinctively let go of my one lifeline while in the air.

"JET!" I screamed as I started plummeting, not fast enough to grab another handhold on the Braviary. The whipping wind proved too loud to hear a response, if any was given.

The next thing I knew, though, I was hurtling towards the ground at lightning fast speeds, screaming all the way. In those few seconds of horrific weightlessness, I took in the view of the chaos below, even if I didn't give it any mind at the time.

Mew was fully enveloped in a gargantuan bubble of psychic energy, large appendages sprouting from the core. These appendages, much like the tentacles of an Octillery, were waving to and fro, some harmlessly in the air, while most were mowing down crowds of enemies, mere ants from my perspective.

Vertical, horizontal; no matter from which direction Mew attacked, all that was left behind was a trail of blood and mutilated corpses. She didn't even seem to notice my predicament.

"MEW!" I tried screaming, my words instantly lost with the wind. I'd hardly even heard myself speak; there was no physical way of translating my message like that.

"Oh no oh no oh no oh no no no no no," I spewed, starting to hyperventilate for Arceus knew how many times that night. I would hit the ground in a matter of seconds, splattered against the mountainside; my premonitions from earlier were about to be realized.

I was acutely aware of a sharp and sudden pain flaring up from my shoulder-region. I quickly turned upward, trying to get a gauge on what was causing it, before I felt myself start to decelerate, and quite rapidly at that, to the point I felt my shoulder pop painfully as it became dislocated.

All I saw before I hit the ground, dug into my bicep, was a single, yellow talon, drawing blood with its iron grip.

The descent was slower, of course, but not enough for me to escape without harm. I still hit the ground, tumbling much harder than was safe. Along with my bullet-wound and the agony it radiated redoubling itself as I connected with the rough rock, my tumble was clumsy. I was aware, as I connected with the ground, of a sharp snap in my left leg.

I lay there after coming to a rest, groaning in pain for an indefinite amount of time, trying to gather my bearings for long enough to relay to Jet what injuries I sustained. His own fall was rough as well, but he seemed to walk away unscathed.

The pain was proving to be too much, because of the accumulation from three different epicenters, it was near-unbearable.

Of course everything only got worse from there.

I was able to get on a single elbow and my knees, albeit agonizingly slow, fast enough to see Jet fending off multiple different enemies with attacks. Mew, much to my horror, was still fighting in her violent yet calm fashion, unaware of our presence.

"MEW!" I tried screaming once more over the chaotic melody of battle. Jet was fading fast, taking too many hits, and had resorted to firing off long-range attacks.

Yet, the enemy Pokémon just kept coming in endless waves. Were they getting reinforcements?

Mew had started leveling enemies in our area, thankfully, but still seemed unaware of our presence. This notion was affirmed when a tendril of psychic power landed mere feet from me, squashing a Weavile in the process.

Jet had fought valiantly, of course, but was overpowered within a minute or two of starting. Enemies came at him one by one; he could only take out so many. By the time he was knocked out and Mew was wrapping up, there were only a few enemies remaining. The culprit of the final blow? A Zoroark.

Yet, much to my horror, this wasn't Somin. No, this Zoroark possessed a slightly darker fur tone, perceptible even in the dim lighting. The bloodthirsty glare it sent me only confirmed my assumption.

" _It's sad, actually,_ " the Pokémon gloated in my head as it stepped over Jet's bloodied form, tearing me from my thoughts. " _Even a simple illusion can trick legendaries if they're not paying attention._ "

It took a menacing step forward, deep-red claws gleaming in the moonlight. Desperate, I called for Mew once more.

I, feeling a sudden rush of adrenaline, tried scrambling away, only proceeding a few feet before my legs gave out. It still approached menacingly, licking its lips in anticipation.

The Zoroark stopped a foot in front of me, bending down to grab my face with a paw, used to jerk me up from the ground, sending a whole new wave of agony from my injuries.

The claws, sharp as knives, dug into my face, slicing the skin as if it were butter. Blood rolled down my cheeks, pooling at the chin before falling to the earth in droplets. The creature lifted me up to face it in the eyes, it's strength easily enabling it to carry me off the ground.

" _Say hi to Giratina for me._ "

Even until then, I'd held onto a sliver of hope. Whenever something unfortunate occurred, whether it be as trivial as my struggle to handle training alongside my Pokémon, or something as important as my life in jeopardy, there would always be someone there to help, even if it was at the last possible moment. My team and I were always there for each other when we needed it, I told myself. I could only trust in them to help me once more.

Yet, as I felt the creature's other claw plunge into my stomach, continuing all the way through, therefore fully impaling me, I knew…

I knew no one would come to help this time.

I dropped to the ground after the impromptu skewering of my body, blood draining fast from my midsection. I was acutely aware of the shuffling of paws, an enraged yell, and a blur of black before I finally, thankfully lost consciousness, rid at last of everything plaguing that night.

* * *

Somin got to watch as his trainer, the human he'd spent every day of the last six years with, the one who cared for him while he was hurt, and vice versa; the best friend he'd ever had, get impaled directly in front of him.

The worst part was, he couldn't do anything to stop it. He could only keep running as the other Zoroark prepared for the finishing blow.

Yet, he'd made it too late. If only he'd left a second earlier, maybe if he had gone just a little faster, Ray wouldn't be bleeding to death.

In the end, though, there was only one thing left to do, and so he did.

Somin started by going straight for the eyes, tears flooding his own. He watched in satisfaction as the other dark-type's irises, full of surprise, were skewered by his own set of claws.

The creature, charged with the murder of his trainer, stumbled backwards, clutching its face as its agonized screams filled the air.

Somin did not care for the scene around him; a legendary laying waste to the stragglers. He did not care for his fallen comrades, only one of which was still alive. Instead, his red-filled vision was dead-set on the pitiful creature before him.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" Somin hissed, positioning himself to strike once more. "I hope you feel it tenfold in the Reverse World, you fucker."

He charged at the injured Zoroark, not quite knowing if it got the message. Though, he did not care; nor did he have the capacity to care for anything else besides one thing:

Revenge.

He cocked his claw so it would impale the dark-type at just the right angle. The bastard would die in the same fashion as his trainer.

He was correct, but it played out differently than he imagined.

He was almost upon it, poised to strike, when a shockwave of energy unknown blasted into him at full-force. He was sent hurtling backwards, landing on his backside mere feet away from his trainer's corpse.

Enraged at the interruption, he lifted himself swiftly to a knee before getting a grasp on the situation.

The Zoroark's body was hung high in the air, its midsection impaled on a long, yet thick thorn of psychic energy. The creature's mane was tossed about haphazardly, claws hanging limp below. Blood leaked steadily out of the dark-types eye sockets, and now its abdomen, creating a small ocean of red directly below.

Somin could tell that, even from this distance, it was dead. But he was not satisfied.

He did not get the kill.

He watched as the tendril of power disappeared, causing the Zoroark's body to fall to the ground with a wet thud.

Putting on a snarl for what took his prey, rotated his gaze towards the source of the energy; a hardly-composed looking Mew.

Even at the sight of the legendary, his snarl did not falter. Even when the legendary floated rapidly to position, his glare did not waver. The only movement he made was to get down on all fours and stand over his trainer, or what used to be his trainer, protectively.

"Nonononononono!" Somin heard the legendary speak, bringing her hands over her mouth. However, he ignored her words in his own fit of rage.

" _You_ did this," he seethed without thought or precedent, his questions about a 'mysterious presence' now answered. "It was you. It's your fault h-he's gone."

He could say no more, the situation finally starting to catch up to him. He felt himself start to choke up, tears continuing to form in his eyes.

" _Somin,_ " spoke Mew, her telepathic voice sounding apprehensive and fearful. " _He'll be alright, I just need to_ —"

"ALRIGHT?!" the Zoroark yelled, outraged, lifting his head to face the legendary. "He's dead! No breathing, no pulse!" to show this, he backed away far enough to allow the legendary to see the damage done.

"THIS!" he screamed, pressing a paw into the gaping hole in Ray's stomach. His tears were freely flowing now, mixing in with Ray's blood and wounds. "How do you expect to fix what there's nothing of? YOU CAN'T! LEAVE US ALONE, YOU BITCH! YOU'VE ALREADY DONE ENOUGH!"

He did not care for the fact he cursed a legendary being. Despite having never seen her before now, he felt as if he was talking to any other Pokémon. No, instead he broke down in sobs, laying down on top of his trainer and holding his corpse as close to him as possible.

" _Somin._ "

He ignored her, clutching Ray so hard he would struggle to breathe, should he still be able to do so.

" _Somin._ "

There was a small bit more urgency in her voice this time, but still, he blocked her out.

" _They're coming back,_ " she said quickly, giving little glances to every side. " _We need to leave._ "

"Let them come," Somin spoke, his voice hoarse and broken. Mew was quick to catch what he was insinuating, and sighed worriedly.

" _Somin, you and I both know there's a ton reasons for you to live right now, one of them on their way as we speak. You want to keep Vita safe, right? You promised her._ "

He froze when he heard her words, knowing them to be true. All it did, though, was succeed in making him even more of a sobbing mess as he accepted them. The legendary knew? Of course she did… If she'd been watching the entire time…

" _I'll take that as a yes. Lemme take care of these guys. Then we can get out of here and help Ray._ "

As she said it, leaving the broken Zoroark behind, she backed away a few meters, far enough to form a shining, pink orb in between her paws. It radiated with latent energy, ready to be released. Once fully formed, she set it carefully on the ground.

After satisfaction, she returned, grabbing the Zoroark reassuringly by the arm.

In the next moment, they, along with the limp forms of Jet and Ray, were gone, blinking out of existence like a light.

* * *

"What the hell?"

"Ahh! What's going on?!"

"Where are we? What's that light?"

"It's teleportation, we're in the condo!"

"Who's doing it?"

"Guys! Jet's unconscious!"

"Oh Arceus, Somin, are you alright? Why're you crying?"

"Holy… Ray."

That last line came out choked, uttered by a certain Durant who had caught first glimpse of their trainer's corpse. Everyone's attention was instantly set to the object of his utterance.

They were back in the condo, their trainer lying unconscious on the white sofa. Already, what blood hadn't been spilt prior was staining the couch a deep red.

"W-what happened?"

"Ray? Ray!"

Victor rushed forward, breaking the others out of their stupor. Axle and Vita followed closely behind. Mew was nowhere to be found.

 _WHAM!_

The Durant went tumbling backwards, colliding head-on with a psychic forcefield. He was instantly back up, however, staring through the invisible wall. He paced in frustration, trying to find some way around it.

"What's going!?"

"I don't know! Who set up this barrier?!"

"Ray!"

Axle dashed past Victor, ramming head-first into the barrier. He knew it to be there, and held his ground, hoping it would give way. It didn't budge.

"Help me take this thing down!"

"Right!"

While the two males took turns shooting random attacks in the invisible wall's general vicinity, Vita had the time to think.

Ray… He wasn't breathing.

Tears flooded her eyes as she turned frantically, looking to Somin for help.

The Zoroark had his head in his claws as quiet sobs racked his body. It was a pitiful sight.

"Somin! What happened to him?!"

No answer. She advanced on the Zoroark menacingly.

"What. Happened. To. Him?" she asked sternly, met only with silence. "Why's Jet knocked out? What's going on?! Why can't we get near him?!"

No deviation in the Zoroark's behavior was evident.

"So help me Somin… If you don't answer me _right_ now…" she choked. "WHAT HAPPENED?"

Her voice by then was a mix between a hide and a scream. She was almost as emotionally broken as the creature before her.

Yet, instead of defeat, anger flooded her system.

Before she could lash out, however, the ground shook to and fro, light fixtures from the ceiling threatening collapse.

"T-the hell is that?" Axle yelled, struggling to stay upright. Even in the darkness of night, a distant, pink light illuminated them. They turned, apprehensively, towards the source. The sight that met them was not cause for reassurance in the least.

The distant Mt. Chimney, visible from the balcony, was partially enveloped in a violent, pink sphere of explosive energy, tearing apart everything in its wake. It was so bright, it pained the Pokémon present to look at it for too long. They could only imagine what would happen to anyone on the mountain.

"What… We were just… What's going on?!"

"Uhh…" Victor began, stuttering stupidly. He'd stopped his assault on the invisible barrier for a moment and had turned away from the distant explosion to set his eyes upon his trainer again. His fear at what he saw, however, quickly drew the attention of the other Pokémon present.

Mew was now hovering over Ray's body, completely visible to the naked eye. All mouths simultaneously dropped as each and every conscious Pokémon, bar Somin, gawked at her presence.

" _No!_ "

Before any of the Pokémon present could react to Mew's sudden presence, a wave of energy, its source easily ascertained, rushed through them. It left, above all, a sensation of crippling fear. No one in the room moved an inch, the legendary before them seeming a hundred times more intimidating.

The only creature not affected was Somin, too shaken up to perceive anything but the sudden silence surrounding him.

" _Everyone out,_ " Mew then broadcasted, her voice sounding as menacing and unpleasant. Victor and Axle gawked at the legendary, wide eyed. The latter decided, reluctantly, to question her.

"Y-you're Mew… Yo-you were t-the one helping Ray b-before?Why? Wha-what happened to him?"

" _He was injured,_ " the legendary said in a no-nonsense tone, causing Somin to scoff angrily at the statement of the obvious. " _I… I'm gonna fix him,"_ she finished simply, choosing not to reveal much, for fear of an overreaction. Her tone, not reassuring anyone in the least, was jittery.

"Is… Is he gonna be alright?" Victor asked incredulously, trying to get a good view of his trainer.

" _He's going to be fine_ ," the legendary said; yet, was that a hint of reluctance in her voice? Was she lying?

"Bull," Somin said from across the room, not even bothering to raise his head. "Guys, he's dead, gone…"

Before Mew could respond, another voice piped in, choked with sobs. "Are… Are y-you sure you ca-can save him? Bring him back?"

Even under the stare of the legendary, which went lengths beyond any intimidation the Serperior could conjure, Vita was unmoving, waiting expectantly for an answer to her question. She tried putting past herself the fact she was speaking to her creator out of pure concern for her trainer.

" _Vita,_ " the legendary spoke seemingly having calmed down a small bit, " _I can perfectly understand your concern, I'm scared too. He'll be perfectly fine, I promise, and awake soon You're gonna need to rest, though. The next few days are probably gonna be hell._ "

"What do you mean?" she questioned, looking upon the legendary with wide eyes. She seemed to have answered her own question, her gaze faltering for a moment before returning to Ray.

Silence reigned. Mew had opted not to answer that question.

"You swear he'll live?" she asked once more, her voice lowering. She prayed the sternness in her tone wouldn't upset the legendary, and cause more harm than good.

" _I swear,_ " Mew responded, sending the grass-type a soft smile. She levitated towards her, placing a paw on the Serperior's body. " _Get to sleep, what I'm about to do is gonna take a while, so you might as well… I'll explain everything in the morning._ "

"Quit lying to her! Haven't you screwed with us enough?!"

Mew turned to face a belligerent Somin, the Zoroark now on his feet and in a battle-ready stance.

"I want you… To leave… Us… Alone…" he growled, emphasizing every word. "All you've done is give us false sense of hope, just to mess with us! I'm not falling for it!"

" _I'm not leaving,_ " was all she said, only serving to enrage the Zoroark further.

"Please, Somin," Vita said unexpectedly from beside their trainer. "I don't know what happened, but I know if anyone can fix it, well… Just, please don't be irrational here."

"NO! _I'm_ being irrational? All you three are doing is blindly trusting the Pokémon, legendary or not, who's responsible for his death in the first place! How could you betray Ray like that? Was I the only one who cared about him?"

"No, Somin," Vita responded, trying to not break down completely altogether. She could tell Somin was struggling to do the same. "I loved him just as much as you did, and if there's a chance, however small, of him coming back to us, you should be sure as hell I'm going to take advantage! What more harm could be done?!"

"She could kill _you_! At least I still _have_ you, and Axle, and Victor, and Jet! If you were to get hurt, Vita; if she were to destroy…" he trailed off, returning his menacing glare to Mew. "There would be nothing left for me."

" _I'm on your side here. You can trust me._ "

That was the last straw. What the legendary just said; the lie she spouted without second thought. Her reassurance only succeeded in making Somin snap.

The Zoroark sprung at Mew, claws unsheathed. It was a spur of the moment action, and even if he were able to fathom the minuscule odds of becoming victorious, he did not care. He was about to make contact with the side of her head, the legendary not even giving him the pleasure of a straightforward stare, when his entire body was jolted to the side.

His form went hurtling through the air at a perfect ninety degrees of what his original path followed. He went straight through the sliding glass door, the shatter loud enough to be heard for a very long distance.

Growling, he struggled to his feet, bleeding profusely from multiple wounds. Paws glowing purple, two copies of him materialized on either side; his own, modified version of double team.

Mew still had her solemn eyes on a Ray, not moving a muscle. " _Stop this, Somin. You're making a scene._ "

All her words ever did were to enrage him. Letting out a full-on yell, filling the night air with his sound, he dashed forward, followed closely by the two clones.

The entire exchange only lasted a second or two, each of their movements almost too fast to see. He started with a Shadow Claw, trying to stab the legendary in the head once more. An invisible barrier, coming out of nowhere, redirected his paw so that it slid harmlessly to the left.

The clone originally on his right curved inward, jumping above the legendary to use Foul Play, while the last prepared a Shadow Ball. As the first tried bringing its heel down on Mew, however, it was stopped mid-air. Promptly afterwards, the Shadow Ball was fired, necessitating Mew to lean slightly to the side so it would sail over her shoulder.

The psychic power holding the clone in place ended up swinging it around the legendary for half a rotation before releasing it, allowing it to propel into the third clone, shattering both. The real Somin, though, after having recovered, charged forward once more with another Shadow Claw.

No psychic barrier stopped him this time. He yelled in triumph as he made contact with…

No, Mew had teleported slightly upwards a moment before, the Zoroark sailing harmlessly under her. In a cruel twist of fate, however, she ended up using Foul Play herself, making contact with Somin's spine.

He cried out in pain as he was propelled into the ground, tumbling for a few meters before attempting to jump back up.

"Gonna take a lot more than that, you bi—"

He cried out, falling to a single knee. The full effects of the attack were kicking in. Had a single attack, even if he was resistant to its typing, taken that much out of him? Impossible.

The rest of the team was too shocked at the exchange to speak, the entire series of events only lasting somewhere around seven seconds.

The Zoroark, breathing quickly and shallowly with tears, shakily stood, taking slow steps towards Mew.

At one point, though, he faltered, coming down once more to a single knee. Catching his breath, he spoke out to the team.

"Axle, Victor, help me out…" he said, staring at the ground. "She's tiring out, I can tell. We can beat her!"

"Somin," Axle started, in much the same state as Vita, a crying wreck. "I trust Mew. I don't think you're thinking ri—"

"SHUT UP!" he screamed. "If you're too much of a pussy to do it, that's fine. I… I can do this alone."

With that, he growled once more, trying to intimidate the psychic-type, before standing and sprinting towards her.

He'd only made it a few feet away from striking distance when his eyes rolled into the back of his skull and he dropped to the hard floor, instantly unconscious. Mew, who'd finally given him the respect to look at him straightforward, lowered her paw, the pink glow emanating from it dulling and disappearing.

" _It is my fault_ ," she broadcasted, whether it was directed towards the team of the unconscious Somin, no one knew. " _I'm sorry._ "

She then turned towards the conscious members of the team, fully gawking at her.

" _You all should follow his lead. Like I said earlier, you're gonna need it. You can stay out here if you'd like._ "

Afraid of angering the legendary to any degree, and to avoid receiving the same treatment the strongest member of their party had earned, Axle and Victor dropped to the floor, in full understanding they wouldn't be able to get a wink of sleep with what happened.

Mew, however, stole their respective consciousness almost instantaneously. There would be no witnesses for what was about to occur, she would make sure of that.

Vita, troubled by Somin's words, was at war with herself. Under the unrelenting, calm gaze of the legendary, though she found herself slowly and reluctantly lowering her head down and closing her eyes, feeling a freezing draft through the broken window.

Yet, no one; neither Somin nor Ray was there to comfort her that night.

The last thing she gave mind before the legendary sedated her was the destruction Mew had wrought on Mt Chimney, all the potential death it had caused. She hoped it was all a nightmare, and soon she would simply wake, coiled around her human and her Zoroark.

* * *

Mew's original intentions in wanting everyone gone was so that she could broadcast her worry without making it evident. Now, though, without the presence of spectators, she could fully show her anxiety for what was to happen. She bit her lip anxiously, eyes flitting about the room.

Soon, she was steered back to Ray. He was long dead, she knew, but as long as she held his soul in the vicinity, maybe the transition wouldn't be so bad?

If she'd been more attentive and broken through the illusion, all this wouldn't have started in the first place. Maybe, if she'd stopped Somin from his contact with Ray's wound, the infection itself wouldn't have been able to grow to a point where even she couldn't fix it. Who was she kidding? Hell, if she'd only stopped herself from giving him so much power so quickly.

If that were the case, it wouldn't have been so easily tainted. He would've been walking within an hour or two. She should've given him a preliminary check, before getting back to the condo. By then, it'd spread too far already…

Deep down, she knew what she had to do, but the problem would be explaining the solution, the _only_ solution, to Ray.

Sighing, she shut her eyes, trying to figure out how to best explain what was to happen in terms Ray would understand.

* * *

"Hello?"

I looked around the dark void surrounding me; no deviation from the pitch black was present. It didn't even seem like I had a body at the time, seeing as I could not spot arms, legs, or even a torso.

"Is anyone here? Mew? Jet?"

I was scared, beyond all else. With no control over my movements, how was I to comprehend anything about this strange place?"

I started theorizing, as I usually would. No queries made any sense, until a certain thought crossed my mind.

"Am I… Dead?"

I was shocked upon 'speaking' in this state. I possessed no mouth, and therefore could formulate no words. Instead, upon the sentence entering my mind, it manifested itself physically. Was I now using through to to communicate?

"As dead as a doornail."

I spun rapidly to find the voice, one I easily recognized. "Mew? It's not exactly the time for jokes…"

"I wasn't joking," she replied, starting to materialize before my eyes. In the matter of a few seconds, the legendary herself stood, or rather, floated in front of me, speaking with her mouth rather than her mind.

"I'm sorry," she stated without pretense, hoping to get apologies out of the way. "I didn't count on illusions to be part of the equation. I promised you I had the situation handled, but… Here we are."

I opened my 'mouth' to respond, but didn't say anything, holding myself there for a second or two before staring downwards.

"Is the team okay?" I asked soberly, trying not to focus on what came next, after death.

"Why so sullen?" she asked, tilting her head, and once more, ignoring my question. Was this a common theme of hers?

"You said it yourself!" I yelled, starting to become angry. "I'm dead! Any second now, Giratina, or Arceus, or someone is gonna to take my soul to who knows where?!"

"Jeez, is that what humans believe? You're not far off, but wow… You make it look like we don't even care."

"THAT'S NOT IMPORTANT! You promised me you'd keep me safe, you promised! No, and now, I'm never gonna see my team again…" Should I have had the ability to cry, I was sure tears would be freely streaming by then. Yet, my mental voice seemed to reflect my emotions quite well.

"No," Mew said, lowering her voice. "I'm gonna heal you."

"Wait, what?" I responded, my mood sparking back to life. "What are you waiting for, then?"

"That's the problem," she replied, rubbing her arm anxiously. "There was a bit of a… Complication."

"What's wrong?" I asked, letting worry seep into my tone. "I'm still going to be okay, right?"

"Yeah!" she shouted hastily, before reeling herself back in. "But… There was a little, eensy-teensy problem… There's gonna have to be a few… Changes."

"Like?"

Mew sighed unhappily, looking away from me. "I guess this is gonna take some explaining. Sit tight, this'll take a little while."

"O-okay?"

Mew shut her eyes, mentally preparing for her big reveal.

"Your body is no longer habitable," she said simply, and continued before I could respond. "Injuries I can heal, as I would under normal circumstances, but you were… Exposed. I was so stupid… I gave you too much of my power too quickly. Your body didn't have enough time to adjust, so it made you susceptible to infection."

"Okay," I responded, trying to comprehend what she was trying to insinuate. "What's that supposed to mean? Am I sick?"

"Not sick, no. This is a different kind of infection, one I can't really explain in terms you'd understand..." Seeing my confusion, she explained. "Let's just say an outside source… Two, actually, came into contact with your stomach wound."

"So?" I interrogated her, irritably.

"So, my power, in you at the time, was tainted with their… Somin and the other Zoroark's presence. I… I was too late to stop the spread. The product was some sort of new power, one that's not mine, one I can't control."

Continually frustrated with her evasiveness, I snapped. "Goddamn it, Mew, get to the damn point! Quit dodging the question! What's going to happen to _me_!"

Mew, much to my surprise, actually let out a growl, a physical one, sounding akin to a soft rumble. However, her frustration meant something. Finally, was this a pretense to some answers? Why did she always have to be so vague?

Yet, when I finally got an answer, I very quickly wished I hadn't.

"You're turning into a Pokémon!"

Seeing my shocked silence, she continued, yelling and on the verge of tears. "The new energy acted as a bonding agent, and there's so much of it that it's gonna slowly change your composition until you're a Zoroark in a reaction that will kill you long before it finishes!"

"Zoroark? Wh-why Zoroark? C-c-can't you stop it!?"

"I tried! If the Pokémon that killed you was anything other than dark-type, I may have succeeded! In order to stop this, though, I would have to separate the genes manually, which would kill you faster than the damned thing stabbing you in the stomach!"

"B-but y-you said becoming a Zoroark would kill me on its own! D-does that mean I'll die either way?"

"I also said you'd be okay too, didn't I? That's because you're not gonna turn into a Zoroark."

My mind was spinning; I tried yelling further to calm it. "What? What the hell kinda bipolar answer is that! Tell me what you're gonna do already!"

"Will you LISTEN? If you had the capacity to stop talking for a few moments, I would tell you!"

The void, with her words, seemed to shake violently, a soft rumble heard coming from all sides. Did it fluctuate with the legendary's emotions? My theory was affirmed when Mew took a deep breath, calming the world around the both of us.

"I'm sorry for yelling," she apologized sullenly. "I'm just… Angry at myself," she chuckled. "Jeez, I ended up killing you the first time you met me… That has to be a new record. And here, I thought I would actually do it right this time… Just because I've been alive for millennia doesn't mean anything's changed…"

Instead of speaking up and interrogating her further, I kept my mouth shut. I highly doubted most of her monologue had been directed at me, and to be perfectly honest, I felt awkward having to hear the legendary's inner thoughts.

I knew one thing for sure, however, and that was how apprehensive I felt. The entire situation was laid upon me like a ton of bricks; and now I was being told I could've done nothing to stop it?

"In all my years, I've never been in a situation like this. I've accidentally transformed people in the past, sure, but I can revert my own edits easily. When I transform someone, a small bit of my power remains in them, keeping their genes the way I want them. All I needed to do to revert these changes was to remove myself. You see, I carry the DNA of all Pokémon, and only Pokémon, meaning that when your transformation started without my intent, even I couldn't stop it."

"Isn't it your power that ended up changing me, though? Can't you take it away?" I asked hurriedly, fear seeping into my voice.

"I wish… My energy mutated, to put it simply. My own genetic structure is so malleable, so flexible, that it naturally connected with first foreign contact… I can't control it anymore. And, like I said, if I were to forcefully remove it, irreversible death would be the only result. The only option is to move forward. I'm going to initiate and direct the transformation, letting the infection take over afterwards."

She continued before I could, hoping to give me some semblance of hope. "I'll have to get you help from someone else, and I'm _really_ glad we live in a time now where that's near impossible…"

I was about to ask what she meant by her last sentence, full of sarcasm, when she continued. "In any case, since you knew who I was before coming to meet me today, I can assume you've heard the stories of me changing people into Pokémon as punishment, correct? Not a lot of people know, though, is that if I don't want them to learn a lesson, it's basically a death sentence."

"What? What does that have to do with anything?"

"In almost all instances, people I turn into Pokémon cannot properly adjust to the amount of power they receive, exponential as compared to humans. They end up killing themselves within a few days. It's a special way for me to get away with indirect murder."

"That's… Dark," I replied slowly after absorbing what she said, silently wondering if her illustration would be what would happen to me.

"The answer is no," she said, replying to the question at the forefront of my mind. "There is a solution, but I'm afraid it'll be a MAJOR inconvenience to you."

"... What is it?"

She sighed, looking away as she spoke. "Just know, before I tell you, that I'm going to try my very, very, very, very best to fix it ASAP."

"Please, just tell me," I said, the anticipation causing for more and more anxiety with every passing second.

"I'm gonna… I gotta reduce your strength so you can adjust, but in a way where it won't debilitate you for life. I swear on my life it's the only solution with a decent margin of success. I'm… I'm going to set the stage for it you learn to use your energy naturally, just like any other Pokémon I… I…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Her trailing off didn't assure me in the least. What did she mean by reducing my power?

"When you wake up," she said, biting her lip in anxiety. "You're not gonna be human, nor are you gonna be a Zoroark… You… You're gonna be…"

She groaned, rubbing her face vigorously with both paws, trying to force the words out of her mouth.

Then she gave up.

"J-just… You'll find out soon enough anyways. I… I can't bring myself to tell you like this. I just… I have to go. Your Zoroark was right."

"Wait wait wait… You're just gonna leave us? We need you!"

"What do you want me to do, Ray, huh? Somin wants to kill me because he thinks your death is my fault! The worst thing about it is the fact he's completely right! Even I can say he's! I need to find Arceus, and I have to fix this. All I'm gonna do is screw up everything even more if I stick around!"

"Somin's rash!" I yelled, trying to convince the legendary to stay, and completely ignoring her mention of the Original One. "Whether he thinks it or not, we _need_ you Mew, more than anything."

"No," she replied ashamedly. "I'll be watching over you guys, helping out if need be. For now, though, I'm just gonna try and fix this. Find Arceus… If I find him, everything'll be fine."

"Arceus… As in, _Arceus,_ the creator?"

"No, a different Arceus. Use your brain, Ray, I know you have one!"

"You don't know where he is?"

"He's been… Missing… For a little while."

"The hell is he on, vacation? Mew, please! I… I don't know what to do… I'm confused, I'm exhausted, and I'm… scared… I'm scared. I need you to be around Mew, I need your help!"

"I… I'm sorry, Ray. I can't." Before I could reply with an argument, she continued. "You like to think about your team helping you through tough times, right? I heard your final thoughts. Your team is there for you this time, they'll help you adjust, I promise."

"Mew, this isn't about you just leaving anymore! Take some responsibility, if you think what happened is your fault! Leave now, and you can forget about me being your trainer! If Somin thinks poorly of you now, make the effort to change that!"

"He needs time… We all do… Understand, though, that I still care about you greatly. You already _are_ my trainer in my mind Ray, please know I'm doing this for the best of everyone. Just like the last few years, I'll be watching over you, even if you can't see me."

She sighed. "I have to go now. Be safe, and please, don't die on me again."

"Mew, wait!" I called as her form started to fade away. "Mew, please! Mew!"

"I'm sorry… I'm so, so sorry. I'll do my best."

She was gone, and I was left alone.

* * *

"I'm sorry… I'm so, so sorry."

Mew forcefully shut the telepathic link to Ray's consciousness; he would be unaware of any time passing until…

She didn't want to think about that.

Rubbing away the tears forming rapidly at the corners of her eyes, she started preparations for the impending procedure. She wanted to get it over with as fast as possible; then she could leave and try to work out the guilt rapidly working its way around her spine.

She couldn't believe she was somehow able to screw it all up… Would she be able to fix everything? Or, was that just a reassuring phrase for the human under her care?

Maybe she was trying to reaffirm herself.

Apologizing profusely under her breath, she initiated the transformation.

Her paws had just finished taking on a pink glow as she heard a loud series of bangs at the front door.

"Crap," she muttered under her breath, cancelling the transformation to get a grasp of who else was present.

She was starting to get the first round of aura readings when a man yelled through the door.

"Ray Alston, this is the LPD. We're just here to help, you're not under arrest.."

 _Liars._

The legendary narrowed her eyes, sending a harsh stare in the door's direction. She was about to smite the fifteen, as she counted, life forms behind the door with a single blast when she gave a second glance at their mentality.

Their intentions were… Pure?

"Please, Ray. We know what you did to at Mt. Chimney, and we know you're being targeted by the UPF. Flannery would like to talk to you about what's going on, as do Drayden and Skyla. Please, we want to help. Just open the door."

 _What the hell is the UPF?_

She lowered her hands, allowing her energy to make its way back into her body. Mew couldn't bring herself to kill innocents, even if they were after her human. Thinking, though, she realized that as long as Ray's team was in public, they would be a target.

She had to get them away from it all.

"Ray?" the man said once more, accompanied by a few more pounds at the door.

" _Listen up,"_ Mew broadcasted for all to hear, lifting her head. " _I'm in a pretty bad mood right now, so I don't wanna repeat myself. If you all know what's good for you, you'll leave my human alone for a little bit. We're going to go away for a while, get out of all your hair. Try to find us, though, and I'll have to kill each and every one of you. That would be preeeety messy._ "

"Ray, I don't know if that's your Zoroark or not, but please cooperate, or else we're going to have to use force."

" _I don't think ya get it, Zachary Reiman,_ " she stated, using the officer's real name for emphasis. She took a moment to scan through the speaker's mind.

" _Yep! I know your name. I know lots of things, like how you live at 1475 Cabin Hill Road in the residential district of Lavaridge, and have two children, age 7 and age 10. Sydney and Hunter, right? Those are nice names. Even though I know your intentions are pure, I'm pretty sure any child would be heartbroken if they had to deal with a dead dad, especially one torn up beyond identification. Or maybe the other way around would work as well to deter you, but hey, what do I know?_ "

She readjusted herself, facial expression neutral. " _Now, I'm going to ask kindly once more. Wouldya do me the favor of leaving us alone, pretty please?_ "

Mew heard slight scuffling outside, accompanied by a few rushed and panicked voices, before another man, a different one, came to the door.

"Ray, we understand the power you're stuck with right now, and just want to help."

" _Yeah, sure you understand, champ. Gotta call BS on that one. Sorry, though, but if you're looking for Ray, I'm afraid you're addressing the wrong person. We'll be taking our leave now._ "

The legendary then heard, as she was preparing to teleport to her chosen location, a conglomeration of loud voices, accompanied by the loud banging of the door. They were going to break it down.

Mew was quick to obtain an exact jump point, and was initiating the teleportation sequence when the door came down and a whole squad of men, all armed, swarmed the condo.

They got one good look at the legendary, though, floating in front of them, and froze in place.

" _Don't follow us._ "

The team was soon gone, leaving nothing behind but a blood-stained sofa, a giant, broken window, and multiple, shocked and confused soldiers.


	6. From the Ashes

**l**

 **Chapter V: From the Ashes**

* * *

Many visions crossed my mind during my impromptu sleep, mostly nightmares of what was to come. Included among them, most prominently, were fears pertaining to my team. What if I were to wake, all alone, abandoned in the middle of nowhere? What if the transformation didn't go as planned, leading to an incredible and horrible mutilation? What if…

What if my team didn't care for me at all? They celebrated my death, finally free of a vain and naïve trainer who thought he had everything figured out in the world. Had they been faking their affection for me?

I'd made so many mistakes… So many… I had to relive each and every one in my own mind.

These less-than pleasant dreams also revealed to me, as well, and in great detail, each and every one of my fears about the people pursuing me. They found us again… They killed everyone.

Mew was trying to destroy me from the very beginning. That's why she abandoned me when I needed her.

These thoughts only ceased when I felt myself starting to wake up. I was incredibly relieved at the prospect, to say the least. What was I worried about, again?

Yet, when I fully woke, I sure as hell wished I hadn't.

Cold pelted at my form endlessly from all directions in the same instant; a harsh wind could be heard in the distance. The temperature was miserable, perhaps below freezing by my approximation. I kept my eyes shut and attempted to figure out how I'd gotten there.

Something was… Off… I was acutely aware of my legs in an extremely odd position; facing straight outward, rather than below my torso. It was as if I'd fallen asleep while doing stretches, but for whatever reason, I wasn't straining myself.

I was too tired to speak, too tired to move. My previous conversation with Mew still hadn't caught up with me.

I tried moving an arm, only receiving a twitch in return. Maybe the cold had drained my strength and locked my joints? My muscles sure felt like putty; there was no other way to explain it.

"Guys?" I called out instinctively, hoping for some sort of help. My voice was the largest change I'd noticed so far. It wasn't exactly hoarse in tone, but it felt as if it drew all my strength to utter the single word. Even then, it came out as nothing more than a tiny squeak.

I just stayed there, struggling to remember anything. I'd hiked Mt. Chimney with the team, Jet and I met Mew. We were attacked! And then… Were we still on the mountain?

A shiver ran through my bones. I could figure out what happened later. First, I had to find my team, then I had to get warm. Was I… Naked? I couldn't sense any clothes adorning my body, but for whatever reason, a layer of… something was covering it; I couldn't feel the harsh cold as much as I would with bare skin.

Reluctant, and praying the cold wouldn't bite at my eyes harshly, I opened them, and took in the landscape around me. My vision was blurry, extremely so; I found myself blinking a few times to try and clear them. Eventually, I got a view, albeit hazy one, of what was directly in front of me.

A mountain of blue… I found myself gazing at it oddly, trying to figure out what the surface was, until it shifted, ever so slightly.

 _Is that… Axle?_

My vision was swimming, so I couldn't exactly make an accurate guess. Oddly, though, I found I couldn't find the strength to move my head to peer up at the creature's face.

 _If it is, why does he look so gigantic?_

I decided to get up; I would do so by shifting to my stomach, before getting on my hands and knees. It would require the least amount of effort.

My movements felt foreign. My body was numb, of course, but something about my limb placement made me question myself. What if everything was not as it seemed? My concerns were verified upon turning over. My own two arms were blocking me, after finding I couldn't move my shoulders to place them at my sides.

 _Are they broken or something? I don't feel any pain… Maybe it's the cold?_

I tried giving them a look, but wasn't able to focus my eyes long enough. Everything still showed, at least to me, as extremely blurry and muddled.

And so, I tried harder. Tried to focus, tried to clear my vision. I found myself blinking rapidly, enough to get even the vaguest depictions of what was wrong. Yes! My eyesight was gradually getting sharper and sharper! Just a few more seconds…

Yet, when I finally got even the obscurest of sights at what laid before me, I blanched.

My hand… My _human_ hand. It was human no longer. My fingers had disappeared, leaving the appendage behind as a… a stump. No, it only appeared that way. A small bit more focus revealed it to be a paw. _My_ paw.

Black fur, messy and tangled from sources unknown, replaced the skin on my arm. In the place of my hand was nothing more than yet another section of fluff, this one bright red in color.

I emptily blinked once… Twice… Somin had played a prank like this on me before, who's to say he wouldn't do it again?

Yet, I found my heart pounding, trying to grasp any information I'd forgotten over the last 24 hours.

Then it hit me… Mew, she had to… Had to…

I fearfully yelped with the realization, finding newfound strength in the form of adrenaline. I tried getting on my fee— paws, and scooting away as if the problem were directly in front of me. All I succeeded in doing was stumbling over the extremely foreign amount of legs, driving myself into yet another sleeping Pokémon.

I imagined myself spewing multiple obscenities, but was unable to physically formulate them. My jaw was slack, I was only capable of letting out high-pitched squeaks and whines. It felt so… unnatural, to not be able to create words.

It only went to contribute to my rising anxiety. Nothing moved in the direction I wanted it to. I was no longer governor of my own body.

And so, I kept flailing and attempting to curse, the product only the incoherent sounds from before, therefore restarting my endless cycle of fear. I landed down on the ground painfully multiple times; horror was always enough incentive to get my legs under me and keep thrashing.

It was only stopped when I heard shuffling beside me, promptly before something wrapped around my midsection and lifted me off the ground.

Tears were freely streaming down my new face by then, dampening the short fur residing there and creating a sensation not unlike a wet towel being pressed under my eyes. I knew what lay in front of me now, but clenched my eyes shut in intimidation. The feeling of weightlessness and vulnerability while in Vita's grip, suspended above the ground, only contributed to my trepidation.

Between my gasps for air and trembles, I caught bits and pieces of the conversation around me.

"W-what? Where are we?" I heard an unfamiliar voice say. It sounded roughly young, the voice of a man in his late twenties. It wasn't very deep, but definitely deeper than my own, or the one I used to possess.

"GOD DAMNIT!" I then heard, lighting up with the recognition of Somin's voice. "THAT BITCH TOOK RAY WITH HER! I KNEW SHE WOULD DO SOMETHING!"

"Ugh, wha— what's with the Zorua?"

This was another unfamiliar voice, with a pitch in a higher key than my own. The raspy, quick inflections led me to believe…

 _Oh no, that's the team, isn't it? I-I can really hear them. That means… Yveltal's wing, she wasn't kidding. I'm… I'm…_

"Who cares! Probably Mew's idea as a fuckin' joke." Somin seethed. I stayed as I was, involuntarily letting out little whimpers every so often, seeing only the inside my eyelids. Whether it be instinct or not, I tried making myself as small in size as possible. Maybe I could just disappear altogether. Then, this nightmare would be over, and I could wake up, back in Lavaridge.

"We… We need to go after her," the unfamiliar man then spoke, sorrow leaking into his voice. "I… I shoulda trusted you, Somin. Damn it…"

"Glad to see you changed your mind," the Zoroark replied, quite sarcastically at that. "She probably planted the kit here so we wouldn't have time to go after her."

It seemed Vita's attention had been on the conversation prior to that last spoken sentence, but with the mention of the 'kit', she turned her attention back to me. Even though I didn't see it myself, I imagined Vita's loving and tender stare as she next spoke.

"It's alright, little one," she said, her voice angelic in a sense. Hearing the Serperior speak for the first time had a novelty to it I would never forget. "There's no need to be scared, no one here will hurt you."

I cringed, shying away further as more tears left my clenched eyelids. Her words were comforting, very much so, but the prior knowledge only I held, but couldn't hope to relay in my flustered state, saddened me further. How would they find out I was me? What I wanted was some sort of familiarity, but all I received was the treatment administered to that of which I seemed.

Vita noticed my reaction, and ignoring the argument escalating behind me, stroked my head with a vine.

"I'm going to put you down, alright?"

Giving no deviation of my current behavior in the least, she did as she said, the cold, hard rock floor chilling my figure as my newly-discovered paw pads connected.

However, as soon as Vita retracted her vines, the lack of support caused me to topple over, my front legs sliding out from under me.

"Hey guys," another unfamiliar voice, this one male with a higher, coarser pitch spoke. "These… These are Ray's clothes… Holes in them and everything. His bag's here, too. Mew must've grabbed it. Whaddaya think that means?"

"I still believe Mew has good intentions," Vita responded before Somin could negatively. "She may be healing him somewhere else as we speak. We have no idea."

"What are the odds of that being true, Vita? Huh?" the first unknown voice, Somin's cohort, responded.

"What do you want to do then, Axle? Go out there, into the freezing cold, when we have no idea where we are, when we have a _newborn_ Zorua, not even old enough to stand, under our care? Have fun, get me a souvenir or something."

 _Newborn? Why newborn? Why did… Oh no, this is what she meant by reducing my power, didn't she?_

"Well, don't you sound concerned," Somin retorted sarcastically. "Our human is out there… _Ray_ is out there, and you want to stay in here, doing nothing? Open your eyes, Vita! He's gone!"

I was kicking myself in the shin (metaphorically, of course) over not stopping the argument, but at the pace my mind was moving, I would be lucky if I were able to form a single syllable, let alone a word.

"I trust Mew. I saw the honesty in her eyes when she made me that promise. I know good intentions when I see them."

I was forcefully shoved out of my thought when a vine wiped away the drenched fur around my right eye. The odd sensation, one I was not quite acclimated to, prompted me to open my eyes for the first time since the argument started and stare at Vita.

"I think you're wrong this time, Vita… Remember the Dewott? Good intentions, my ass."

Somin's counter was lost on the both of us; my full attention was on the Serperior, while hers was on me… for whatever reason.

I had to look upwards to get a proper look at her face, now multiple times higher. She stared back down at me with wide, happy eyes, tinted at the edges with her own tears.

After staring at me straight in the eyes, though, she froze.

Her vine retracted slowly, stopping mid-way as her face contorted with thought. First came confusion, a few seconds passed as her thoughts developed before her expression changed dramatically.

After confusion came surprise. She gave a secondary, intense stare straight at my face, invading my personal space and causing me to shy away ever so slightly from her advance. Her mouth opened and closed multiple times in indecisiveness.

Then came horror. I observed her eyes light up in recognition; she'd finally figured out what she was contemplating. But; what was it?

Lastly, though, came overwhelming joy, in the form of tears.

"Vita, did you even hear what I said?"

"Oh, Arceus…" Vita started, her voice seemingly having gone through a strainer. She proceeded to wrap two vines around my midsection; I knew what was coming before it happened.

She let out a happy noise, somewhere between a sob and a squeal, before bringing me into an extremely tight embrace against her. I yelped in surprise, my vision instantly blocked and the air forced from my lungs.

The Serperior was frantic; I was aware of a wet sensation, amplified by my fur, in the wake of her repeated nuzzling.

"You're okay, you're alright," I heard her mumbling to herself, a personal mantra for my safety. How did she know, though?

Yet, she did. There was no other explanation for her reaction. So, finally, with the Serperior crying profusely, and with the realization we were all alright, sans myself, I ended up doing the same, pressing my face further into the Pokémon.

I let everything out. My fear of change, the sudden transformation, and the frustration of Mew's abandonment. The legendary was right, though, my team would be there for me, even if I didn't acknowledge her words at the time.

"V-v-vi," I tried choking out, my jaw giving up before I could finish. She seemed to have gotten the message, seeing as she lessened up in her intensity, instead holding me as close to her as possible.

"What the hell was that, Vita? You coulda killed the thing!"

I turned my head, ever so slightly, out of Vita's body to gaze at Somin. I still quivered pitifully, being reminded every few seconds of what had happened.

"I-it's Ray…" she replied simply yet incredulously, laughing in a mix of joy and confusion.

"Great, now she's delusional," Somin replied, prompting a full stare in his direction. This was the first I'd seen of him, and he looked like a mess. I couldn't find a single spot in which his fur wasn't tangled or matted, including his mane. He also sported multiple cuts running along the length of his body, having stopped bleeding a while ago. Had he gotten in a fight?

"Look at him, Somin! There's no way this can be a coincidence! Legendary shows up, notorious for transforming people into Pokémon, who promised to bring back our dead trainer. And now, you think this is just a random Zorua!? He has Ray's eyes! You saw it yourself, even his clothes are here! Look at him, Somin! Take a good, long look."

Somin, not convinced, growled, stalking forward with a glare. After situating his claws under my forelegs, he ripped me from Vita's grip and raised me to stare him dead in the eyes.

"S-s-som-" I struggled; the stutters would be present even without my speech impediment.

Yet, he just kept staring… And staring… His glare softened as his eyes glazed over in thought. He seemed to be putting the pieces together.

"Somin?" the coarse voice asked. There was only one left I hadn't associated with a member of the team, so I assumed this to be Victor. "Whaddaya think?"

He didn't respond, and I thought I saw the faintest trace of tears form in his eyes…

… Promptly before he dropped me from a distance more than four times my height. I'm fairly sure I let out a yelp upon falling, but couldn't quite remember. Unable to correct myself, I landed directly on my side, the resulting whiplash causing me to knock my head into the ground.

I was instantly unconscious.

* * *

"Unnh…"

I groaned as I woke, my head pounding. Without opening my eyes, I knew I was back at the condo, stuffed completely under the sheets. My comfort and warmth at the moment betrayed that fact.

 _Darkrai, that was a really weird dream. My head hurts from thinking about it all…_

"He's waking up."

 _Who's that? The voice sounds familiar… But…_

"Just… Try and keep him calm. We need to be positive. We gotta try not to scare him."

 _What are they talking about?_

I slowly opened my eyelids, suddenly made of lead, to get a grasp of the world around me. I blinked a few times, clearing the clouds in my vision. A few shapes danced fluidly through the blur.

"Ray?"

I was finally able to focus enough to see none other than Vita, staring straight back at me. She wore a worried gaze, red eyes staring deep beneath my skin. A half-smile was the expression she wore, as if she were trying to raise my spirits.

 _Oh no… Oh no… It wasn't a dream, was it?_

Instantly fully conscious, I let my eyes go wide. Fearful, I look down at myself, and choked once more at what I saw.

My body… It was still missing. Replacing it was the ball of grey _fluff_ I'd hardly had any time to get acquainted with before.

My breathing and heart rate were instantly through the roof. The only object stopping me from struggling once more in terror was Vita, who seemed to have already coiled herself around me protectively.

"Are you feeling alright?"

 _How the hell do you think I feel, Vita?_

I stared up at the Serperior, petrified. Each, solitary breath came out shaky and fractured.

"Ray, please, just calm down…" she said in a soothing tone. "We're here. It's okay."

 _Okay?! What about this is okay?!_

I wanted to struggle, wanted to run. I supposed that was why Vita had ensnared me initially, however. It didn't prevent me from squirming uncomfortably, though.

The way the fur… _My fur_ rubbed up against the Serperior, the direction my limbs could and could not bent, it all felt so unnatural. My senses, and what I perceived, were not my own, but those of another being.

To be perfectly honest, we may have sat there in silence for the better part of a half hour. By then, the initial shock had finally subsided once more; I was reduced to nothing but a quivering mess.

"Feeling better?"

I shook my head solemnly, eyes lowered.

"Everyone's glad you're okay," she spoke tentatively, stroking my head softly with a vine. The contact was comforting, sure, but I didn't much care to notice it at the time.

"Can you speak? At all?"

I raised my head to stare defeatedly at Vita. "Lit...le," I tried, content I could at least produce some tier of coherence in my speech.

"Jet explained most of what happened. Can you tell us why Mew did this? We might be able to help."

This was another voice, one I instantly recognized as Somin's. Turns out his natural speech sounded exactly as I'd heard in my head. His speech prompted me to, for the first time, take a glance at the rest of the group.

I hadn't forgotten how he'd knocked me out, either directly or indirectly. I put on an irritated expression as I turned to glare at him, but ceased when I received sight of his condition.

Everyone stood at attention in a small semi-circle around Vita, huddled to conserve warmth. The Zoroark, responsible for the suggestion, was looking even more rugged than I last saw him. If it weren't for prior relations, I could've easily mistaken him for a wild Pokémon.

His eyes were bloodshot, fur matted. It seemed as if, despite our prior period of unconsciousness, he hadn't slept for a month.

I sighed, knowing I wouldn't be able to speak long enough to give an adequate answer. Simply too much information was present to tell before I'd tire. Not that they'd understand half of what I said, anyways.

"Lonnng… Storrrrrrry."

The Zoroark then stared at the ground defeated. I swore I found the faintest of scowls adorning his face.

"I'm sorry… I… Not just for dropping you but… If I'd been there a little earlier, I could've saved you. None of this would've happened… Jet would've been able to fail without the consequences screwing everything up.

"You think this is _my fault?_ "

I turned towards the yell, Jet's, as he glared towards the Zoroark.

"Well, while we're apologizing," he said sarcastically. "I'm sorry Ray has to deal with such an emotionally unstable _prick_ who thought it was a good idea to knock him unconscious for no reason! You're a mess, Somin, a joke! _My fault._ What can you say you would've done different in my position?! At least I was—"

Instantly upon stopping, he dropped, commencing in writhing on the floor in apparent pain. He let out multiple, involuntary squawks, screaming to alleviate his apparent agony. I could guess the source of his suffering fairly easily.

Somin's eyes were glowing a deep purple, focused menacingly on the convulsing Braviary.

No one dared advance, even if they yelled at the raging Zoroark. Spontaneous shouts of, "Cut it out, Somin!" and other exclamations of the same nature filled the room.

"Next time you try to speak up," the Zoroark replied, his fear-invoking voice sounding above the rest, "remember who you're—"

 _SMACK_

The Zoroark's eyes lost their tint almost immediately, a paw going up to touch his jaw; the spot in which Vita had slapped him with a vine.

He glared at the Serperior, gaze softening when he remembered I was still present. Letting a scowl retake his face, however, he stormed straight out of the cave entrance and into the harsh fall wind.

No one spoke for a solid thirty seconds, I almost thought I heard his agitated yells above the tornado-force winds outside.

"Jet's out cold."

Victor stood over the unconscious Braviary, surveying the damage done and breaking the stunned silence.

"Of course he's gotta throw a fit when something like this is going on," Axle piped in.

I remained silent, staring upon the scene with awe. In those few moments of savagery, I'd completely forgotten about what had gone down. If anything, though, at least the surprise was enough to stop me from quivering.

"Just give him some time… Let's just fill Ray in while we wait for Jet to wake up," Victor said, turning to Vita, and subsequently, me.

"We're not even gonna talk about this?" Axle questioned incredulously as he lumbered back towards us. He turned towards the cave entrance every so often, as if he expected the Zoroark to barge back in at any second.

"I wouldn't worry about it," Vita said out of nowhere, turning towards the Swampert. "They'll work it out, there's really nothing we can do."

I still had my gaze directed towards the harsh world outside. Somin looked in no condition to be alone at the moment, I could only hope he wouldn't blow off steam in a violent fashion.

"Twist Mountain."

"Huh?" I asked, finally wrenching my line of sight from Somin's trail.

"We're on Twist… That's where Mew teleported us. Almost halfway around the world."

 _How's that possible? There's no way any psychic can jump that far!_

"We went out and checked while you were out. We're right by the summit. Means our cave is only a day or two's walk from here…"

Our cave… If we were on Twist, that meant the cave we occupied during our one-year stint in the surrounding mountain range was nearby.

"We came up with a plan," she continued. "If it snows up here, we're dead, plain and simple. There's no food this high up, so the goal is to get downhill as fast as possible. We can only hope the berry grove hasn't frosted over…"

"Yeah, but now that's out the window," Axle interjected. "Somin and his tantrum just delayed us until whenever he decides to come back and when Jet wakes up… Beautiful."

"It doesn't really matter," Victor replied. "It's not like we were gonna leave instantly anyways. It's the middle of the night… We'd fall off the mountain before making it anywhere."

Vita sighed, malcontent. After directing a cursory examination, to make sure I was alright (or the closest possible), she lifted me up with a pair of vines and set me down on the cold stone below.

"I'm going to go find Somin," she said simply. Then, in an authoritative time, she continued. "Watch Ray, I might be a while."

Without another word, she slithered, disappearing from sight instantly upon exit.

I watched, shivering, as she left. The sharp contrast of temperature between her body warmth and the cruel cave weather was not expected.

I wasn't without company long, however, considering a certain Swampert took post beside me, laying down against my flank.

I gazed up at him incredulously. Even when lying down, he still towered at somewhere around four or five times my height. His head alone was most likely larger than my new body altogether.

"You know why… Well, you know… you know why Mew made you a… a kit?"

He seemed incredibly awkward asking the question; I only gave him a sign in return. At least I'd previously figured out how Mew "reduced my power naturally." Yet, was this necessary? To make me a Pokémon on its own was a punishment, now I had to be entirely dependent on the team?

"Yeah, your body mustn't even be a week old yet. It's a bit strange."

I glared at the Durant, rolling my eyes at his obvious statement.

"I'm… I'm glad you're okay though," Axle continued; I could feel the vibrations of his voice run through his skin. "It's…" he sighed, "I just don't know what to think about any of this."

"Hey!" Victor said, voice raised enthusiastically. "Just think about all the opportunity this brings, though! I know it's unfortunate, but think… What human is ever gonna get to experience this? You can understand us! That's enough reason to look forward to what's to come, until we get you all fixed up."

Not quite knowing how to react to the statement, I let out another sigh, resting my head on my hands… paws.

His impromptu speech did spark curiosity, though, if apprehensive. Yet, I solemnly realized I couldn't hide from myself forever.

Jaw quivering, I resigned myself to take a look around my soul's new home.

The most prominent feature of this new anatomy was the addition of a fifth limb, having not even given it any mind beforehand. The prospect of me having a tail alone would be enough to interest me for hours. Quite frankly, I didn't know how to feel about it whatsoever. A portion of me laughed at my own dilemma, while another exhibited discomfort with the change. The tail itself didn't even feel foreign, a grayish tone, like the rest of my new fur. After moving it a few times in each direction, though, I felt as if I'd been in possession of the appendage for quite a while. I sat for a few moments, ignoring the presence of Axle, Victor, and now Jet, practicing certain movements and sequences and feeling gratification when I felt adept in its usage. At this point, the swishing movement of my newest limb had allowed me to calm down, if only a little. It didn't stop me from whimpering pitifully in fear.

Looking over the rest of my body, I found, once more, my human arms and legs had been replaced with much smaller limbs, all nearly identical in shape and size, the hind ones slightly larger. All four were the same base color as the other fur adorning my body, but tipped with a deep red on each end, similar to the look of wearing socks. The sight of them sent a shiver up my spine. Unlike the tail, which was solely an addition, replacing one body part with another felt unbelievably odd.

Lastly, though, trying not to pay any mind to my paws, I craned his head to stare at a darker patch of fur surrounding my neck, black, instead of the normal gray, and longer than the other fur around my body. As weird as it was to, I could say confidently that it was, in fact, comfortable, bringing a moderate, but pleasant feeling of warmth to my neck and upper back. It was definitely a welcome contrast as compared to the freezing temperatures surrounding us.

Finally having gotten a grasp on what had occurred, I came out of my trance noticing my breath rate had lowered. Even if I was still shivering, I could at least, by then, attribute it to the cold.

Of course I was still frightened. My breaths, even if slowed, were shaky, as if I were to mentally collapse at any time.

Speaking of which…

Somin and Vita still hadn't returned. While I wasn't expecting them to rapidly come back, I held a small bit of resentment at the fact.

For whatever reason, I possessed something close to a desperation to see them again. I wanted to make sure they were okay, of course, but this… This felt like something different… Something new.

"They're probably just having a discussion. They've been doing it a lot lately, no one really knows what they talk about."

Axle's explanation brought me back to reality as the thoughts of my sudden attachment to the two disappeared. Now absentminded, my attention shifted every few seconds to something new. One moment I would ponder over the future, and in the next, I would aimlessly and mindlessly watch the silent swish of my new tail.

"What do we do then? Just walk?" Victor and Axle had been in a discussion, most of which I'd blocked out. For no specific reason, I started giving them mind when the question was proposed.

"Problem is that Ray can't." replied Axle, closing his eyes in mild frustration. "Mew just _had_ to turn him into a newborn. We'll freeze if we stay up here unprepared, though. Sure, we have what's in his bag, but is it enough?"

"What if we called someone?" Victor's voice sounded in return. Our questioning stares in his direction prompted him to stand and walk a few feet away, where my old clothes and bag lay. He, upon arriving, dug through the fabric with his mandibles.

Finally finding what he was looking for in burrowing through one of my backpack pockets, he retracted himself and raised his prize for all to see.

"Good thing you kept your Pokénav on you, huh Ray?"

Right… I never parted with the device. After the incident we ran into during Chargestone, one of my first near-death experiences in which we were completely lost, I was scared to be without it. In there, I had contact information with all Gym Leaders of the region, Drayden's included, considering his contact info had been left with the discharge papers he'd given me personally. Surely, at least one of them would be of assistance?

"I don't think it's exactly a good thing," replied Axle, staring grimly at the device.

"Who could we call in this situation? It's not exactly like asking for help in a normal case…"

"Yeah, but maybe someone would know how to fix this," Victor replied, bringing the device back over towards us.

"What would happen if any human got a hold of Ray?" Axle interrogated, "That's probably why Mew stranded us in the middle of nowhere! We can't get help, or else someone'll figure it out and those people will come for us again."

"There's people we can trust, though! Like Skyla, right? What about them?"

"There's no telling if we'll see 'em in the first place. Humans turning into Pokémon, imagine how they'd react… They would take him away, and we'd never see him again."

The cave fell into silence once more, before Victor gave a quiet reply. "We should still keep it, though, in case we need it. Fair?"

"Eh," the Swampert said nonchalantly after a few seconds of thought.

No longer having need to say anything, the group sat in an incredibly awkward silence. At the very least, the lack of speech gave me some time to ponder potential plans for what to do. Would I see Mew at all over the next few days? If so, what possible roles could she play in my future? How long would it take to fix me?

Minutes passed. I shifted uncomfortably, Axle's breathing pattern rocking me back and forth. I even tried standing at one point, making little progress.

A very audible 'humph' from across the cave sounded, redirecting our attention. Jet had awoken, grunting with the effort of getting off the ground. He scanned the cave with a glare, softening a little when he realized Somin wasn't around.

While not specifically glaring at us, he bore an irritated expression as he crossed the cave to join us. He nodded his head in my direction as greeting.

"Where's Somin?"

"He stormed off… Vita went after him."

I thought I heard the faintest utterance of "Asshole," from Jet.

I remained observant throughout the exchange. Were they always this combative? Never before had I experienced this sort of infighting among us.

I was wrenched from my thoughts once more, however, when a calm, female voice spoke from the entrance of the cave.

"It's time to leave. Let's get going."

"Where's Somin?"

"He's waiting outside."

Axle stood, turning downwards to give me a glance.

"It's not exactly like Ray can walk…"

"Already got it figured out."

The team's collective stare shot behind Vita, in the direction of Somin's voice. He'd seemed to have calmed down considerably, but hadn't taken the time to clean himself up. Even if his attitude had cleared up, his appearance contradicted his state of mind.

Ignoring a glare from Jet, he stalked straight towards me, plastering on a look of indifference. I could tell he was trying his best to retain normalcy in his behavior.

He stood over me, a good fifteen times my height. I felt so… puny. The fact he'd, not ten minutes before, attacked a teammate didn't assist to ease my worry.

He then picked me up off the ground, no effort required. The size I was at the time, he was easily able to fit a paw under my belly and support my weight thoroughly. The entire process was demeaning, at best.

I was about to let out a yelp or grunt of protest when Somin's paw retracted, leaving me in gravity's clutches for the second time that night. Clenching my eyes shut, I let out an abrupt yell, expecting Somin to have dropped me yet again.

I was muffled, however, when I became submerged in a world of fur. I didn't open my eyes, but was easily able to discern the fact it surrounded me on all sides. I struggled, not quite knowing which way was up.

I did resurface, albeit after some exhausting exertion on my new muscles. Gasping for breath, I poked my head back into the frigid air.

The first thing I did, after sputtering and spitting out some hairs (a few had found residence in my mouth), was send a glare at the Zoroark after rotating a half-turn. He was looking over his shoulder amusedly at me out of the corner of his eye, which placed me…

Somin's mane… I'd heard of the relationship between Zorua and Zoroark, where the latter would place the former in the gigantic swath of fur lining the back of their heads and running parallel with their spines. The area itself was large enough to fit multiple objects, perfectly suitable for habitation of smaller species. Yet, I felt odd. Zoroark did this mainly to protect their young, but being a physical part of the equation threw me off.

He then, after giving a cursory glance of where I was previously, grabbed my Pokénav without a word. He seemed to have placed the mental puzzle pieces of our discovery together rather well. It was dropped only a few inches away from me, disappearing under the ocean of fur.

He proceeded to pick up my bag and sling it around a shoulder. He readjusted his mane, myself inside, to sit above the pack before putting it on fully.

"See?" he said, smirking at my reluctant annoyance to my current placement. "Problem solved."

I stared at him oddly. Was he seriously going to act as if nothing had happened? It seemed, despite the seriousness of the situation, most everyone had already forgiven one another's transgressions. Or, were they only expressing their disdain internally?

Were they, perhaps, afraid to confront Somin about it? Vita didn't seem to have a problem with stopping his behavior, even going as far to speak with him afterwards.

Yet, I still found my mind didn't retain interest in the incident for long. I was still reeling from what had occurred; bits of information and ideas kept popping up into my head about our future. Instead of expressing my inner turmoil in surprise and fear, however, now it presented itself in the form of quiet contemplation.

"Come on, let's go," Somin said, cutting into my thoughts as he trekked towards the entrance of the cave, his mane bouncing up and down slightly with his gait.

"Wait! You still wanna go now?!" Axle asked, stepping forwards towards us.

"When else are we gonna go?" Somin responded. "The wind's starting to let up and the sun's rising. I don't know how long we've been out for, but I don't think any of us need anymore sleep. We need to get off of the mountain as soon as possible, so why not start now?"

"Hmm," Victor interjected, "Shouldn't we, I dunno, give Ray some time to adjust first?"

I opened my mouth, ready to attempt forming a response when Somin replied in my stead. "It's not like he can do anything else right now. I'm pretty sure he'll have a _lot_ of time over the next day or two to think. Let's just get this done, and maybe we can help him adjust later tonight? Hell, what better place to train and teach than the grove?"

The cave fell into the grasp of silence for a few moments. What Somin had said reflected my opinion very poorly, but I wasn't exactly in a position to argue. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't be able to escape his mane without an external source of assistance. I could barely maneuver inside without exhaustion as-is.

I'd since turned back around, finding it easier to twist my upper body before my lower body to move through the swath of fur. The rest of the team, with nothing else to argue, wordlessly formed up and prepared for the journey ahead.

I didn't have any say in the matter as we collectively stepped out into the harsh wind of the outside world.

Somin was correct, it was becoming daylight outside. Twist Mountain was the largest peak in the surrounding mountain range, the second tallest summit in the world, in fact. The sun glinted off of the jagged, eastern horizon, slowly bathing the surrounding area in an orange glow.

The cave, our cave, was situated somewhere around 8,000 feet in elevation. In fact, it wasn't technically even a part of the Twist Mountain incline, resting in a valley between it and the summit of an adjacent, much smaller peak. As part of training during the year we spent away from society, secluded among the mountain range on which we stood, we would hike Twist, a whopping 19,000 feet in total. It seemed now, though, we sat somewhere close to that elevation.

The surrounding mountaintops provided for little cover from the harsh climate, even in early fall, considering we stood above them all. The wind stung harshly, of course, but I found myself grateful at the lack of snow… For now.

I could just about fathom the discomfort my team was feeling having to trek in this weather. The altitude, even if we'd just been on Mt. Chimney, certainly didn't help. I found myself subconsciously shrinking into Somin's fur, leaving to the cruelty of the wind as little as possible. By the time I settled in, only my head was visible.

For hours they walked, dotted at random with conversations, mostly about what had happened and potential plans for the future. Multiple breaks had to be taken, considering the sudden altitude change. Sure, we were physically capable, but the sparseness of oxygen would've debilitated nearly anything.

I practiced speaking by trying to explain what happened from my perspective, mainly what information both Jet and Somin lacked.

We'd encountered little ferals along the way, most taken out by Jet from the air before they even came into sight.

Most noticeable about the journey, however, was how much I learned about my new self while gazing upon the mountainside. Even as something as insignificant as the chill nipping at my ears revealed to me a widely different location and a different shape.

I fathomed for the first time how heightened my senses seemed to be, as compared to how they were only a day before. Even if my eyesight was still fuzzy at times, my hearing and sense of smell in particular were the largest changes conducted. I heard, in great detail, the crunch of my team's paws against the cold rock below, coupled with our conversations seeming all the louder. I was even able to perceive, at times, the heavy breathing of each, individual Pokémon.

Scents were a relatively new concept, and tended to overload my mind at times. Somin's fur held a distinct, inexplicable smell, one I would never have noticed as a human. It overwhelmed the others; I was only able to get wafts of theirs every so often.

Hours passed, and we very nearly ran out of subjects to talk about. I was starting to feel slightly sluggish, for whatever strange reason, the steady bounce of my ride lulling me in a half-trance.

"So," Jet asked from above, adjusting his wing movements to fit the whipping gusts of air. Flying, especially at the altitude, was difficult. He mostly had to rely on gliding through updrafts in order to make any progress. "Whaddaya think about fighting, Ray?"

"Hmm?" I responded, perking my head up from my makeshift pillow of fur. The question was quick to spark my interest. I hadn't even thought about that aspect of becoming a Pokémon, would I be able to fight and use moves? What would that feel like?

"Yeah," Somin chuckled, "Hell no. His body's probably only a few days old, has about a quarter the size of a fully grown Zorua, and can't even walk. I'll teach him about using moves, but we need to wait a little first."

"Well, yeah, of course," Jet replied hurriedly, a hint of resentment lacing his tone. "I know we gotta wait, I just wanted to know how he felt about it."

"It… sound cool," I replied slowly, my thoughts racing. Now, I was getting excited, letting it shine on my face. "When start, Somin?"

Getting the intentions of my words, and ignoring my improper grammar, he sent me a glance out of the corner of his eye.

"I started learning how to fight once I was somewhere around four weeks old, if I remember right," he said, dampening my spirits. For whatever reason, I was incredibly excited about the concept, maybe it was the contrast from my uselessness as a human?

I'd never had the chance to do anything special as a human. Sure, it was fun playing the role of the trainer, but an innate part of me wanted to know how it felt to do what my team did on a daily basis. Having supernatural powers, I'd dreamed about it since childhood. I'd even read books before, fiction novels on teenagers, not unlike me who'd somehow gotten the powers of a Pokémon. Was I soon to become one of the protagonists I'd so desperately wanted to be when I was young?

"But…" he said, "You've been living sixteen years already, you're smart enough to start early, but I'd still give you some time to adjust first."

While his words brought a bit more pep to my demeanor, I was still slightly disappointed. How long would I end up waiting? Two weeks? Three?

"In the meantime, though, instead of moves, I can teach you the basics of illusions, deal?"

"Wait, realllly?" I was confused at his response, but elated nonetheless.

"You're sure that's a good idea, Somin?" Vita inquired. "Shouldn't we give him some time to get stronger, first?"

"Illusions are different than regular moves," Somin replied. "There's really no physical requirement to start, and I think it's best if he learns early. Means he gets better faster. That's a huge advantage, and honestly, we could use it right now."

"This train of thought is premature… Why does Ray need to learn about using his abilities? We should at least get our bearings first."

"We have no idea how long he's going to be like this. Better safe than sorry, I'd say. It's not like he hates the idea, either way."

"Until then," the Zoroark continued, addressing me, "do me a favor and practice talking. You can start learning to walk when we stop for the night, deal?"

I nodded once more, astonished excitement resting on my face, before being dragged back down to reality. I'd realized then the fact we were stuck in a perilous situation, racing Mother Nature, and for a moment, a single moment of bliss, I'd forgotten all of it.

What were we to do? What if Mew fell through, and we never saw hide nor hair of her again?

What if I was a Zorua for good?

I sighed, letting my jaw sink back to rest on Somin's mane. Maybe it would be best if I focused on one thing at a time. If I kept reminding myself of what could be in the future, I would never get through the present.

I would just have to take the punches as they came.

So, I did as asked, and started speaking to the team, conditioning my new facial muscles.

* * *

"Alright, I think it's time to stop for the night," announced Vita, looking towards the setting sun. We'd been bathed in darkness for the last hour or so, a nearby mountain blotting out the sun. It was a sign we'd considerably decreased our elevation. The temperature continued to decline steadily with every passing minute.

"See a cave?" Somin asked, turning his body to look around. The centripetal force of his mane tossed me about at random intervals. I was shaken awake as a result. I wouldn't let myself fall asleep while the team walked, but I was certainly feeling drowsy."

"Over there!" Jet called from up above, motioning with his beak towards a nearby ridge. "Looks like a pretty big one over the hill."

"Okay," replied Somin, turning in that direction. "Let's finish this up, then. It's only gonna get colder out here."

Leading the way, the Zoroark trekked towards the pointed direction.

A few minutes later, I was being lifted out of Somin's fur and acquainted with the outside world. At least my face had been acclimated to the cold, but my body shivered upon being placed on the ground. My fur helped little.

For the first time, I realized how exposed I felt without the cover of clothing or Somin's fur. I'd hardly even given it thought when I'd woken. The fact we'd left my clothes on top of Twist helped console me little. I found myself subconsciously slinking my tail between my legs, trying to cover up as best as possible.

"Okay, let's try this, then," spoke Axle. "Just… Try getting your legs under you."

The Swampert had been the most obvious choice as a walking instructor, seeing as he was the only member of the team, at present, who was both bipedal and quadrupedal simultaneously. Even if our anatomy slightly differed, he volunteered to help without direction.

I nodded, getting into position. I felt weak, of course, but not the kind of fatigue one would feel after strain. No, these muscles had never been used before. Most of the time, they would either not respond or move too little. Getting my limbs under me only proved a challenge to see if I could gain traction and stop sliding about.

After quite a bit of struggle, I got it. My hind paws were situated under my legs, folding over one another in a position that made me perceive the full extent of my anatomical changes. I could do nothing like this as a human, and now it felt completely natural. I felt unease with the thought. My front paws, on the other hand sat by my head, in a gesture I could at least physically perform prior to yesterday.

"Okay, now push up."

I stared at the Swampert oddly. If I were to push up from this stance, I wouldn't be able to get far. The way I was situated would allow for my joints to hardly leave the ground before my own weight took me down.

"Lemme be more specific," he corrected. "Your hind legs are gonna be most of your muscle. Push up from there, and let your momentum carry you up on your front."

This would be nothing like I'd imagined. If I were on my stomach as a human, I could get up using my arms. But now, I wasn't able to use their replacement in order to do so? I'd thought this'd be a lot more simple.

Sighing and nodding, I pushed as hard as I could, almost cheering when I extended my front limbs to stand… promptly before stumbling and falling over forwards with the excess momentum. My jaw hit the ground first, slamming my tiny teeth into my tongue.

I whimpered, opening my mouth as a means of exhaling frustratedly. To be honest, the most damage had been dealt to my pride.

Eyes sullen, I looked up, expecting some sort of humorous reaction from the team, but found they had gone about our living space and prepared for the evening, paying no mind to our impromptu lesson.

"It's a good start," Axle said, trying to hold back his own laughter. "I think you know what you did wrong, though, let's try again."

"Yep," I replied, situating myself once more. I struggled furiously to get the red, rapidly forming, out of my face.

This time, though, I didn't give myself enough thrust, and almost fell backwards, stopped just in time by Axle's paw. He helped me up, after which I stood, shakily, on four paws.

I was scared to move. Surely, if I lifted a single paw, I would fall right back over.

Axle retracted himself, leaving me to stand alone. I heard him speaking to someone behind me, but was focused enough as not to care. I stared down at my front paws, praying to Arceus they weren't too close together, lest I lose my balance.

That was when I felt a tendril wrap around my midsection multiple times, supporting my weight.

"Vita's gonna help you if you fall," said Axle's voice behind me. "We're gonna try taking a few steps."

"O-ok," I replied, placing my right hind paw forwards. After I made sure my balance was accounted for, I advanced with my left, hind paw.

Noticing a mistake, one in which I would slide backwards should I proceed to set my weight on it, I shook my head, moving the paw back to its original location. Instead, after a small bit of thought, I moved my right, front paw.

Exhaling, I repeated the process on opposing sides, smiling slightly when I returned to my original position, only about a few inches forward. My steps had been clumsy, landing on the ground without any grace, but I'd made it. Despite the small size, it was still a large accomplishment.

"Good job," Vita said enthusiastically, loosening her vines ever so slightly. I took this as an invitation to continue, and did so.

Right back, right front, left back, left front. Right back, right front, left back, left front. Right back, left ba—

I felt myself falling backwards with the misstep, before Vita's grip tightened and caught me. She then lowered me softly to the ground.

"Hey, at least Mew didn't make you a _new_ newborn, right? At least your eyes are open. You did alright, though, a good start," Axle stated, nodding his head ever so slightly. "We should probably get to sleep, though, it's late…"

"Right," I said dejectedly, sighing. I'd noticed Victor and Jet had already settled down, their eyes closed and breathing easy. Somin looked on the scene indifferently.

Deciding I wanted to give it one last go, I chose a spot in which I would sleep, positioned myself correctly, and stood. I stumbled for a moment before my hind legs slid out from under me. Yet, I'd kept myself rigid with the other pair.

I was successful in positioning the limbs back under me. Not giving a glance to anyone, I took a step forward, then another. I stumbled once or twice, thankfully not enough to fall over, and eventually made it to my goal.

Progress had been slow, of course, but I'd made it, and because of that, I was proud, if even a little. Sure, the thought of having to learn to walk again was demeaning beyond all else, but I was content, for now.

Not quite knowing the best way to lower myself to the ground, I let my front limbs slide outwards, enough to land me uncomfortably on my chest. From there, I grunted as I rolled myself over into the position I washed to sleep in, much the same as the one in which I'd originally woken.

"Night guys," I said out loud, closing my eyes. It would be tough getting to sleep in this cold, but I'd manage… Eventually.

Turns out I didn't have to. A set of claws gripped the skin on the back of my neck and lifted me into the air. Forcing my eyes open, I gazed irritatedly and sleepily at the culprit: Somin.

"What?" I asked in protest; being lifted by the scruff wasn't exactly a pleasurable experience.

"You're gonna freeze to death. Your fur isn't long enough yet to retain heat, and your body isn't old enough to withstand the cold.

"Whaddaya gonna do 'bout it den?" I slurred sluggishly. How'd I gotten so exhausted so fast? Sure, I was tired the entire day, and had to force myself to stay awake, but fatigue, it seemed, was fast to set in.

For the second time that day, I was lifted above Somin's head, and dropped into his mane. I struggled for a second or two to resurface before my head peeked out. I watched silently as the Zoroark walked across the cave to lay down inside Vita's coil.

"Night Ray," the Serperior spoke, her eyes already closed.

Somin laid down, curling himself into a ball to conserve warmth. From my perspective, I saw him let out a large yawn, prompting me to do the same.

I highly doubted my mouth was supposed to open that wide, at a considerably larger angle than possible as a human. Yet, I found myself too tired to ponder it, instead almost instantly dipping into a troubled sleep.


	7. Steady Adjustment

**Yes, I changed the name of the story. "Another Chance" was a battleground for me for the longest time, and considering I get the intimation some see it as a cliche, I decided to remove it.**

" **Another Chance" was meant to reference something big later on in the fic, so having people interpret it as 'Ray gets another chance at life' was fairly demoralizing. The new title, however, should more accurately reflect the aforementioned event, all while granting the title the degree of ambiguity I desire.**

* * *

 **Chapter VI: Steady Adjustment**

* * *

"I dunno, is it a mountain?"

"What!? How'd you guess!?"

I sighed, resting my chin on Somin's mane. About half the day had passed, a portion of it spent with an impromptu game of I-Spy between Axle and Victor. With nothing else to do, I listened to the incessant babble, seemingly even more annoying now I could understand them.

My thoughts had drifted the entire time, but almost always returned to the events of the same morning.

I'd awoken, screaming and on the verge of tears as a result of nightmares I couldn't remember the contents of.

In my struggle, I'd managed to fall out of Somin's mane, and was crudely reminded of the changes that had occurred in their entirety. My rebooting mind had yet to remember the previous day's events, so I found myself in a fit of fear much akin to my prior one.

It was only with the soothing words of the hastily-woken Vita that calmed me down, enough to feel guilt and apprehension to the point of tears.

Now, I felt downright depressed. It seemed the revelation was finally starting to kick in; I'd actually been transformed into a Zorua, and a kit at that. I was going to be stuck that way for at least a while, and there was nothing I could do about it.

"Wanna play, Ray? You seem down."

I glanced in Victor's direction, and was met with a pair of eyes, full of pity.

It only served to frustrate me further. They thought I couldn't handle myself, didn't they? I was just some weak, pathetic creature in their eyes, one that they were only helping because they were forced to.

No, that was wrong. My team cared about me, they did… They hadn't given me a reason to suggest otherwise, so why was I so upset?

"Ray?"

Those eyes were still staring at me, but instead glinted over in concern. Concern for my mental well-being, I realized.

Yet, that didn't stop the fact I was in a horrible mood, and just wanted time to think.

"Sorry Vic," I said slowly and softly, "Maybe little while."

"That's okay!" he responded enthusiastically, "I was gettin' a little bored with it anyways. Not many ways to pass the time up here."

Arceus, I felt so useless. Sure I hadn't been as physically capable as a human, but this… Now, I couldn't do anything, and being handled as such was humiliating.

Did Mew really have to reset my biological clock? Was this really the only way, or was there another solution Mew brushed over for a simple laugh?

Hell, I couldn't even walk on my own without help. Was Mew meaning to screw with me? If she wasn't, then why did she just up and leave? She was probably watching me now, sniveling about the whole situation.

Then it hit me.

She knew… She _knew_ about how I felt when it came to independence. She'd debilitated me so I would have to get help! That was her plan, it was to mess with me all along! She planned the entire attack, hurt Jet, just to see me suffer.

"Doin' okay, Ray?"

I had started growling, actually growling subconsciously with the thoughts of the legendary. Vita, though, dragged me back to reality with the question.

"Eh," I mumbled, embarrassed about the fact I'd allowed my emotions to manifest themselves. Sighing, I let my eyes to go half-lidded. I could never get bored with the multitude of thoughts, queries, and frustrations running through my head.

Maybe it was the exhaustion slowly creeping up my spine that'd allowed the turbulent thoughts passage to my consciousness. I had a point, sure, but the claims were outlandish. I wouldn't let myself become some sort of conspiracy theorist, no matter how angry I was.

We were set to arrive at the cave sometime within the next few hours. I tried looking forward to that, rather than let my thoughts settle on my malcontent.

Mental exhaustion, as I'd explained, was setting in fast; exponentially quicker than my physical fatigue. I attributed it to my mind being allowed no respite over the last few days. Hoping to be rid of the pounding headache roaring through my brain, I allowed my eyes to close fully, trying to focus solely on the contrasting warmth I felt through Somin's fur, as opposed to the harsh climate outside.

I was asleep almost instantly.

* * *

"Alright, time to talk."

Vita, noticing my tiny head peeking out if Somin's fur, fast asleep, nodded. She turned solemnly towards Somin.

"He's letting it get to him," she said, glancing at me out of the corner of her eye. "He said Mew abandoned him, he's probably starting to realize we're all he has now."

"Why would he be angry about that, though?" Axle inquired. "I thought we were doing a good job!"

"That's the problem," Vita replied. "How do you think he feels about this? Over the last few years, he thought himself progressively useless compared to us. Just imagine what he must be feeling now! His one lifeline to becoming human again disappearing doesn't help at all."

"What do you suggest we do then, Vita? Without our help, he'll die, plain and simple. Maybe he just has to suck it up and learn he needs us right now."

"You saw how much of a wreck he was this morning, Somin! We gotta give him something, something to hold on to, or else he'll completely fall apart!" Axle inserted. "We're the only shred of anything he has left, it's not enough…"

"I'm gonna give him something to look forward to," Somin defended himself without turning around. "You're gonna keep teaching him to walk, and he'll eventually get old enough to do stuff on his own again. Problem solved."

"You almost sound like you don't care, Somin, we can't just brush this off," Vita stated, narrowing her eyes.

"Don't care?! I didn't get a wink of sleep last night, all because I couldn't stop worrying about this! _I_ don't care? Open your eyes, Vita!"

"Somin—"

"WHAT, Vita!? What!? I've had to watch him die right in front of my face! Twice! Goddamn, it doesn't matter what we do! He'll probably still feel like he's stuck with his parents again, and we all know how well seeing them worked out last time! What do you suggest we do to change that?"

"Don't you _dare_ bring Sierra into this," Vita hissed, raising her head. "This is nothing like that! We're nothing like them!"

"That's not the point!" Somin yelled, stopping dead and turning directly around. He didn't falter under Vita's glare.

He turned behind him at a hint of movement, seeing the little Zorua in his mane shifting with his sleep. Either he was having yet another nightmare, or he was disturbed by their screaming. Thankfully, though, he stayed under.

"I know what it is," Somin said quietly. "By the time I first met you two, he still hadn't gotten over his dependence on his parents. He only ever fully became his own person after he got rid of those fuckers. Now, reliance is being shoved back into his face tenfold, and the worst part? We can't do anything about it. As I see it, we have two choices, either protect him as the child he appears to be, or leave him to die. Which one do you wanna choose, Vita?"

Vita paused, continuing in her deathly glare at the Zoroark. "No, he never became independent. True, pure independence means you're detached, a reject from the rest of society. No, when he denounced his parents, he turned to us, he just didn't know it. Now, though, he's forced to realize it for himself."

"Still doesn't change the fact he's unhappy, does it? Hell, I don't know how we expect him to be happy in this situation, he thinks all we do, every second of the day, is think about how this is somehow his fault…"

"What makes you say that?"

"Just… Everything about him. He feels guilty about something… I've known him long enough to figure out that much."

"How do we help him pull through?" Axle inquired.

"I'm gonna help him get past it. I'm gonna make everything normal again, Zorua or human. All we need to do is maintain the familiarity we still have; still be ourselves. Maybe, in time, he'll come to realize nothing about us has changed with his transformation, we'll still see him as the Ray we all knew… Before all this," Vita replied, sighing.

"Maybe… Maybe this will help us get to know him even further," Victor said, seemingly out of nowhere. "I don't wanna stay stuck on the past. He's a Zorua now, nothing's gonna change that any time soon. The best we can do is make the most of it. We can all look at the positive side of what's happened, and all we need to do is make Ray see it too. We're only gonna come out of this stronger as a team either way."

The group turned in the direction of the Durant, eyebrows cocked after hearing the unexpected insight in his speech.

"I-I mean," he stuttered, face lighting up red from the stares, "Or w-we can do whatever, you know…"

"No," Vita sighed. "As much as I hate to say it, you're completely right."

In silence, they continued on, trying their best to take the Durant's advice.

* * *

 _Death seemed to follow the boy wherever he went._

" _No! Please! Don't do this to me!"_

 _No matter how hard he tried… No matter what he did… The result was always the same._

" _Oh Arceus… I'm so, so sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen…"_

 _All he'd ever wanted was a companion, a comrade he could call friend. His social standing among his peers never allowed for any human compassion._

 _They all saw him as a freak._

" _All I wanted… I just wanted to have someone. Please, I don't want it to end this way…"_

 _Tears rolled freely down his cheeks, pooling at the chin and falling at sporadic intervals._

" _Please…"_

 _His sobs intertwined with his words, making his sentences near-incomprehensible. However, he seemed to get his proposed meaning across rather well._

" _Z… Zor…"_

 _Gasping, the boy stared at the dying creature before him._

" _It's okay," he told himself. "You'll be okay… I'm gonna get you fixed up, and we can go on the journey I talked about together. I promise."_

" _I won't let you die."_

 _Trying to keep the tattered bandage wrapped around the Zorua's body intact, he picked it up, ignoring the whines of protest, and sprinted off._

 _Two miles… That was all he had to go. The location of the accident, thankfully, wasn't a long way from help. He tried focusing, whether it be on his own footfalls, the ragged breathing of the small creature, his attempts at keeping pressure on the wound, his futile tries not to jostle it around._

 _The blood rapidly soaking the arms of his jacket..._

 _It was long dead by the time he arrived at the Pokémon Center._

* * *

"I got somethin'," said Somin after nearly an hour and a half of silence, turning around to give the team a glance. "How's about I start teaching him illusions tonight?"

"Why?" Axle asked, "What's the point?"

"Eh, why not? It's probably a good way to get his mind off of everything that's happened, so—"

"NO!"

"What the hell?"

Somin was interrupted when his trainer, held in a restless sleep, woke screaming. I struggled upon awakening from the disturbing dream, to the point I eventually worked my way out of the Zoroark's fur, falling hard on the rocky ground below.

It hit hard, I felt the breath get forced out of me with the contact. Yet, even that did not stop me from shaking. Had I had a nightmare again? I remembered the events of the dream distinctly. However, the scene was unfamiliar, it took no space in my memory bank whatsoever… How had it gotten in my head?

"Ray, are you alright?" Victor's voice could be heard above me. I opened my eyes, slowly, to see him before me, staring down with worried eyes.

I got over the shock of not being human once more, thankfully this time without any outward reaction. Once I realized where I was, though, I let my heart rate lower.

"The hell was that, Ray? You scared the crap out of me!"

I turned sullenly towards Somin, ears flat against my head instinctively.

"S-sorry Somin… Just… Nightmare."

"I noticed," he said irritably, "Just… Don't do it again."

I nodded, burning up under each individual gaze of the team.

"You let me sleep?" I asked slowly, humiliation furthering with the thought. The least I could do was stay awake while being carried all over the place. I loathed the thought of sitting idly by while others worked for me. In my mind, it lessened my stature in the other's eyes.

"You needed it," Vita cut in, scratching my head with a single vine, "You're going through alot right now, and it doesn't help that kits sleep through a majority of their time anyways. You get exhausted easily, it's natural. I'm surprised you were able to stay up the whole day yesterday," she paused, chuckling. "Probably why you fell asleep so fast last night."

"Whatever," I said grumpily, taking note of her calling me a kit. At least she didn't seem angry, if her vine was any indication. Maybe she wasn't as irritated as she let on. I was probably over-contemplating the situation.

With the silence that immediately followed, I was able to get a grasp of my surroundings. We seemed to be at a considerably lower elevation, if the patch of trees that laid ahead was any indication.

Yet, I heard something else…

"Is that… Our river?"

Even if my words were over-pronounced and slurred, the intention was not lost on the team.

"That's the grove, isn't it?" Victor asked, staring at the small forest ahead. "We made it!"

"I'll find the cave," offered Jet, speeding off with a few powerful thrusts of his wings.

Finally! We maybe, just maybe, weren't going to die, secluded from the rest of the world. We'd made it to our safe haven, a home away from home.

Wanting to do something for myself, though, I ignored the pain rapidly flaring from my side, stood up, and stumbled forwards, off towards the trees, leaving the team behind.

"Ray! Wait up! We don't know if there's ferals in there or not!"

The sound of flowing water enticed me greatly, enough to drown out the apprehensive call of Axle behind me. I hadn't had a single drink since we stopped for the evening the previous day, my throat felt as if sandpaper had been rubbed thoroughly around the insides.

The thought of my thirst went to further my already-latent feeling of hunger. Unlike water, at the elevation we'd been at the previous day, there had been absolutely nothing to eat. I'd completely forgotten about it during the time, the sensation not quite showing itself without my attention. In short, I hadn't consumed anything since I'd awoken the previous day.

Of course, we checked the bag for food prior, but found it empty. Either some ferals had gotten to it on Chimney during our absence, or all the food had been unpacked, and therefore resided not with the bag as it was teleported away.

My steps, as before, were clumsy. It was as if I were walking on stilts, my gait showing as rigid and splinted.

Yet, eventually, I'd made it, stepping into a riverbank clearing before the rest of the team. I'd stumbled, sure, but felt gratification when I made it without completely falling once.

I was laying down by the water's edge in an instant, gulping down as much drink as possible.

The ice-cold mountain water, while numbing my tongue, was an extremely welcome contrast to before. The magic liquid ran down my throat, taking all signs of soreness with it.

Yet, for every positive, there's a negative to accompany it. I was only reminded of how hungry I was, the water seeming to multiply the void in my gut tenfold.

Was this healthy? My stomach felt like it was starting to gnaw on itself, my mouth watering with the thought of food alone. Yet, I asked myself an incredibly important question, one I felt like I should've been answering on the ride down.

How?

My teeth, if one could call them that, were tiny, much too small to chew on anything solid? Oh Arceus, would I have to have my food chewed into a paste for me, like a bird?

I turned around hungrily in the direction I'd assumed my team was following me. It seemed Victor had retraced my steps, and was taking a drink for himself to my left, but no one else was to be found. Getting food, maybe? Were they aware of my predicament?

"Jeez, this is pretty cold," Victor said, hoping to start conversation. "Refreshing though, wouldn't you think?"

I nodded my head absentmindedly, my only thoughts focused on food. My stomach growled loudly in protest of my cruel treatment, inciting a frown.

"Yeah, I'm pretty hungry too," Victor pointed out needlessly, trying to keep the lighthearted air about us. "Kinda hard to believe we haven't eaten for a full two days now, huh?"

 _Putting it into words doesn't help the fact, Victor._

My stomach only growled more with his words. Why did my hunger have to manifest itself now?

"Hey, found some food!"

I darted my head towards the voice, Axle's, as he lumbered over towards us. He was walking awkwardly on his hind legs, balancing multiple berries and other assorted fruit in a cradle made with his arms.

"There's still berries all over the place! Most of it's frosted over, but there was still more than enough."

He then dropped the food to the ground; Victor was instantly on top of it and gorging himself.

I let out an involuntary whine at the sight, after which I cut myself off. The instinctual reaction made me feel incredibly offstandish.

Noticing my distress and discerning what was wrong, Axle narrowed his eyes.

"Uh… Somin? Whaddaya we gonna do about Ray?" he called.

"Already got it figured out…"

I turned my head to see the Zoroark approaching from a different direction, a few different types of berries pinched between each of his claws.

When he arrived, staring down at me with a smirk, he dropped all but one berry; a Magost.

It was pink in color, small green stems sprouting from the top. I neither liked nor disliked them, sporting a bland taste, in my opinion.

He then punctured a hole in the fruit with a single claw, resulting in a thin trail of juice in its wake.

"Until we figure out how to go around this, here you go. Eat up, there's not a lot per berry. I already had some."

I happily nodded, getting up to stumble hastily towards Somin. He didn't seem like he was gonna let go of the food, however, so I stared up at him questioningly

"Drink," he stated simply, rolling his eyes.

I let out a sigh. In the end, I knew hunger would prevail over my own dignity, so, reluctantly, I moved my head up towards Somin's claw, stuck my mouth against the berry, and gulped down the still-flowing juice.

It tasted… Well, it tasted just as I thought it would. It possessed a slight tart, differentiating it from water, but otherwise remained constant.

Within seconds, though, the stream was reduced to mere drops. After squeezing it dry, we moved on to a different berry.

This process repeated itself somewhere around fifteen times with six different kinds of berries. We continued until I felt full enough to curb my hunger until the next meal.

Who knew when that would be?

"See? That wasn't so bad."

I glared up at the Zoroark, eyebrows furrowed. He seemed to take the gesture as humorous, seeing as he snickered before beckoning me to join the rest of the team. I felt early onset anger at the interpretation before I realized he would have done just the same if I were human.

So, with a sigh, I let myself be picked up before advancing on the remaining four team members.

"Find it?" Somin asked Jet as we approached.

"Yeah," the Braviary responded, voice lowered, without looking up from his Lum Berry. "Exactly where we left it," he motioned with a wing. "You're gonna have to check it for yourself if you wanna see inside."

"Right," the Zoroark replied, ignoring the spite in the Braviary's voice. "Ray and I'll check it out. Be back in a bit."

"Oh," I said, surprised by his volunteering of me for the task. Yet, I felt content knowing I was finally able to do _something_. "Okay then."

Somin let me back down, I was happy to walk on my own yet again, even if I set an incredibly slow pace. Nevertheless, I took the lead, approaching the area Jet had pointed out. The stream I trekked along wound around a small cliff-face further up the path, disappearing from sight. That was the destination, where our cave was.

The grove was our source of food while residing here. We would even resort to hunting at times, during the winter. I was lucky to find such a little paradise this high, supporting all the basic necessities of life. I didn't even bother running to the base of the incline for supply runs (a small village was located there). Instead, we became completely dependent on the mountain for our entire year of seclusion.

"Hmm…" I heard Somin's voice sound behind me once we were out of earshot of the rest of the team. "Think you're up for learning illusions tonight?"

I stopped dead, staring incredulously and wordlessly at Somin. Where did this come from?

Interpreting the questions I held, he continued. "It's gonna be slow learning at first, yeah, but your illusions are as only as strong as your power shapes them, which doesn't have anything to do with age."

"You're serious?" I asked, prompting a half-smile in return.

Heart racing, I nodded excitedly at the remark, a small bit of pep in my stride as I continued walking.

"You gotta promise me something, though."

I turned back once more, in full view of the serious expression adorning the Zoroark's face.

"Yeah?"

"You gotta be careful," he said simply. "I know it sounds cheesy and over-protective, but I'm being serious. As is with all moves, if you over-exert yourself too far, you could cause permanent damage. We've seen it happen before, and it's not a pretty sight. Thought I should let that sit a little before we start."

Cocking an eyebrow and tilting my head, I nodded slowly. "Yeah, okay."

"Already had to watch you die twice," he said, the lightheartedness returning in his demeanor. "Rather not do it again, cool?"

The question was asked rhetorically; he continued hiking. Not wanting to fall behind, I scampered after him.

What I didn't expect, however, was for him to start in an introduction as I caught up.

"Illusionary power, before anything, is a subset of your own power. All living things have it, even humans, if subdued greatly. Human psychics are the most common example of those rising above natural boundaries to use their latent, extremely small well of energy. Pokémon, minus a few exceptions, are the only creatures capable of tapping into our power."

I stepped over a tree root, trying my hardest to focus intently on his explanation, while retaining the ability to walk successfully. It seemed I'd pretty much gotten the hang of it by then, even if it would be a long time before any extensive physical activity would be introduced.

"Now that _you're_ a Pokémon, though, I think you can guess what that means…" he trailed off, staring down at me, a knowing expression shining.

"The energy, this power, it's the basis for all moves and attacks, and is what interacts with others while fighting. It's both your offense and defense. For example, have you wondered how the move Bubble can knock out a Fire-Type if placed right? The answer is how the move affects your own energy. While it's the source for your own moves, it also acts as crutch for your endurance; if a move hits you, as is what happens during battles, your own power will falter, your attacks get weaker. Some forms of energy interact differently with others, hence type advantages. Once your energy goes below a certain point, though, you fall unconscious."

I'd gotten some semblance of this explanation before, mainly the result of lack of conversation topics while hiking. We were actually where we were, on Twist, when I'd first heard it. I distinctly remembered trying for the next few days to find my own power out of boredom, following Somin's explanation that some humans had done it before.

Who would've guessed we'd be in the same area when I would finally succeed in my meaningless plight?

"Your stores start out extremely small, but end up growing and strengthening with time and training. As you were right now, I doubt you'd be able to take a single attack from almost anything without being knocked out."

With my subsequent glare, he continued, shrugging his shoulders.

"What? It's the truth… It's not to say you won't get better and end up with a higher endurance. Our species is naturally really frail, but powerful. I'm only stating a fact, so you gotta be careful."

"Fine," I said, focusing on the path ahead. A bend in the river was in sight, I knew the cave lay just beyond.

"Same goes for using attacks on your own. Try and use a powerful attack, one that takes a lot of energy and deals a lot of damage, and you'll end up draining yourself so quickly you'll drop before you can even fire it. Start slow and build up… There's my only rule… Like I said, over-exertion isn't a pretty sight."

"Why've I never seen it?" I asked, continuing onward. If Somin had seen it, why hadn't I?

"It's almost impossible to _really_ over-exert yourself… You usually fall unconscious or go into a coma before you can. Though…" he trailed off.

"Let's just say making Pokémon think they have enough energy to continue on is a really gruesome form of torture. Illusions can be used for a lot more than you think, Ray."

I shivered. Had Somin done that before? Why had I never noticed it?

"While we're on that tangent," he continued as if he hadn't hinted at a dark past event, "Illusions are really… Special. That's a good word for it. They're almost like regular moves, using the same source of power, but we're lucky enough to be the only ones able to use them."

It took me a second to realize that by 'we', he meant fellow Zoruas and Zoroarks. I guessed I was really a part of them, wasn't I? I wasn't exactly ready to leave my distinction as a human… Hopefully it would all be resolved soon.

"I guess I'll teach you the rest tonight… Might as well have it fresh in your mind for when we start."

"Wha? Why tonight? Can't we start now?"

"You'll see why," he finished without looking at me, another smirk gracing his face. "Either way, we're here."

He was correct. I hadn't even noticed we now loitered with the cave entrance in sight. It resided, as I remembered, up a small, steep strip of land adjacent to the cliff face behind. Should it have been any lower, it would've flooded with the river's overflow during the spring season.

A set of stepping stones, put in place by none other than ourselves, lay ahead. Would I be able to traverse the river without—"

Without word, Somin scooped me up in a paw and jumped astonishingly far to cross the river. It had to have been at least fifteen feet across.

"Depending on how abundant your energy is," he said out of nowhere, "it may or may not increase muscular capability. Though, you still need to rely on physical training, for the most part."

Before I could suppress the stars rapidly forming in my eyes, he continued on a different tangent.

"Looks like everything's exactly how we left it…" he said, walking inside. I followed close behind.

The cave was almost exactly how'd I remembered it. While keeping a low ceiling, one only twice my height as a human, it remained spacious. A few of the rocky outcroppings I used as a makeshift bed were worn, but otherwise functional.

"Ah… No… Something lived here after us, probably a feral."

I poked my head out behind him to gaze at the target of his observation. Raking one of the cave walls was a large set of crossing claw marks.

"They're old," Somin continued, "Beartic, maybe. Not long after we left."

He proceeded to remove the pack from his shoulders, an accessory I'd completely forgotten he was wearing during our hike.

"Freezing in here, though… You had a fire-starter, right?"

"Oh! Yeah, it's somewhere."

"Damn, Ray," he said as he dug through its contents, tossing out random items. "Thing's a mess."

"Like you'd do much better," I replied sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

"Hey, at least you can talk now, right?"

"Huh? I guess so…"

I stared at the ground. Sure, I stuttered at times, and found it hard to formulate larger words, but I found my range of speech had widely improved as compared to yesterday.

At least that was one issue out of the way.

"You think we can change me back soon?"

Somin froze for a second or two before turning towards me.

"Where's this coming from?"

"I'm… I'm just worried…"

"Well," he said, turning back around and continuing to dig through my bag. "I'm gonna be completely honest with you, man… I doubt any human's gonna be able to help."

"Why?"

"I mean, it's not like we're not going anywhere near humans. As much as I hate to say it, Mew looks like the only option here. She'd better keep her promise…"

"What do you want to do, then? Stay up here 'till she shows?"

"That's an option… I doubt you can survive up here for long, though…" he said. "Plus, it sucked up here a few years ago during winter, I doubt anyone wants to go through that again. I'll probably get us set up in Icirrus, and we can go from there."

"So we're just gonna keep moving?"

"Haven't talked about it with the group yet, but it's my vote."

The cave lapsed into silence as Somin finished the first pocket of my backpack. Sighing, he moved on to the next one, and tensed up at what he found.

"What?"

He said nothing, instead grabbing an object and showing it to me.

It was a Pokéball, plain and simple, if a little worn over years of use. I knew exactly what it meant, however.

"Oh… Yeah… I kept it with me… I just liked to remember sometimes, you know?"

"I thought we finally got over this!" Somin exclaimed, before shrinking back. "We're you really… Really going to consider letting Mew on the team? We kept that sixth spot open for a reason, Ray. Jet told me you were thinking about it."

"I know! I… I know… But something bad was going on, Somin. I didn't want to have to say no."

Somin, after staring at me sullenly, chuckled. Actually chuckled, despite the topic of our conversation.

"She probably would've wanted it, too… We all felt bad about having to move on, but I'm sure she's glad we did."

"Somin, I…"

"Don't worry about it," he said, trying to keep a happy air about us. "What's in the past is in the past. I still stand by our decision, even if you don't, and nothing's gonna change that."

He paused, before speaking once more, words full of thought.

"She would've wanted Mew to be on the team, if it would've made us safe. Doesn't mean I agree… I'll leave it at that."

I sighed unhappily at his rapid end of the conversation. I'd gotten over it by now, sure, but my blatant lack of regard at the time shocked me.

"Hey, uhh… Where's our Pokéballs?"

"Huh?" I responded.

"They're not here…"

"I kept them on my… My belt… Why wasn't it with my clothes?!"

Somin rubbed the bridge of his snout. "They were back at the camp on Chimney… Vita said she practically destroyed the mountain… It's gone."

"Wait, but if they're gone…" I trailed off.

"Damn it… We're all wild."

With a frustrated yell, he threw my nearly-empty bag against one of the cave walls, connecting and landing with a quiet thump.

I'd since stood, and was involuntarily staring at Somin, eyes full of fear. His size difference certainly struck me with trepidation, doubled by his anger.

Knowing for sure, however, that I did not want another fit of rage from Somin, I shakily spoke.

"I-It's okay… We c-can get more when w-we get into to-town."

He spun on a heel to face me. "And if we run into a trainer during that? What then, Ray?"

"Well… Tell me then…" I responded, regaining my confidence. "What trainer is seriously capable of catching you guys? We're one of the strongest teams in the world!"

"It's not us I'm worried about… Probability of catching a Pokémon has to do with their level of power at the time… You know what that means?"

I thought for a second, before letting a troubled look creep on my face. "Oh no…"

"They wouldn't even need to weaken you! One throw, and it's all over."

I kept silent, quietly contemplating what I would say next.

"Can't we use the one we have?" I said with apprehension.

Somin turned his head to look at the Pokéball set on the ground beside him. He then stared at me oddly.

"You sure you wanna do that?"

"I think it's worth it… Like you said, I'm sure she'd be okay with it if my safety was on the line."

I was scared. Horrified, in fact, at the prospect of being placed inside a Pokéball. Never had I thought how it would feel, what I'd experienced. Arceus, I knew the basic mechanics, but my knowledge was limited to primitive terminology. The extent I knew was that the device somehow converted mass down to the smallest unit possible; pure, unadulterated energy.

Somin picked it up, holding it in his paw for a second or two.

"You're sure? You don't want to know what it's like, or anything?"

"Just get it over with."

He nodded his head silently and moved the device forward slowly.

My heart was racing as I theorized what would happen in the next few seconds. Would I even feel any change happening. By then, the sphere was only an inch from my forehead. I closed my eyes braced myself.

I felt the cold button press up against my head with a soft click.

But nothing happened.

I opened my eyes to see Somin staring at the Pokéball oddly.

"It hasn't been used in a long time… Probably busted a long time ago."

I exhaled sharply, attempting to calm my heartbeat.

"Guess we're getting six of 'em when we get to Icirrus… Until then, stay close, would you?"

I nodded silently, staring at the Pokéball. Somin stood, grabbed my back from its place of rest, and put it back inside.

"No," he then said, "I got another idea…" He paused. "We'll talk about it with the team. This whole damn week's just a mess."

Narrowing my eyes in thought, I took another look around, lighting up when I found something specific. It was cylindrical in shape, a small, thin piece of metal attached by a string on the end.

"Firestarter."

Somin looked with me at the item, smirking somewhat when he saw it.

"Hey, at least something's gone right."

* * *

Vita returned from collecting a bunch of berries for herself to find a certain Zoroark and Zorua were missing.

"Where's Ray and Somin?"

"They went ahead to the cave," Axle responded between chews. "Where've you been?"

"Me? Oh, I just got sick again… It's nothing to be worried about." She paused, before chuckling nervously. "Probably ate too much too fast, and I'm sure the altitude isn't helping."

"Hmmph… Take care of yourself," Victor said before turning back to his meal.

"Mhmm," Vita responded absentmindedly. "I'm gonna go check up on those two. Come on down when you're ready."

"Sure thing," Axle said without looking up.

Vita sighed and turned towards Jet, silent during the exchange. He's since finished eating and was now preening his feathers. Without a word, she turned away and went upstream, munching on a berry as she went.

* * *

"I should probably get something to burn," Somin said, looking towards the exit.

"I can help!" I responded without thought, stepping hastily towards the exit. One of my paws slipped, and I found myself on the ground for a quarter of a second before finding my footing once more.

"And what are you gonna do? You gonna carry sticks in your mouth? I didn't think you'd be this quick to adjust," he chortled.

I'd volunteered my services without thought, so the prospect of no longer having hands came crashing down in that instant.

Yet, either way, I solemnly realized I would be stuck like this for quite a while, at the very least. At the minimum, I could figure out how to function in this body normally.

"I can try," I responded resolutely, and stepped back out into the sunlight. At this time of day, the entire area was illuminated with incredibly bright, reflected light. One benefit I noticed about the layer of fuzz now surrounding me was the fact it soaked up the sun, warming me considerably well.

Thankfully, the wind speed was at a minimum, even if the occasional gust did blow my fur about haphazardly. The mountain air still, still frigid, held a certain crisp to it, succeeding in refreshing my lungs. I stood at the cave's entrance for a moment or two, taking in the sight of the mountain-line beyond the grove. The sun would be setting soon, only an hour or two from then, by my estimate.

For the first time since everything started, I actually smiled. This was the first moment in which I could actually pause, a time within the bustle of the previous few days where I was granted respite from my own thoughts. The mountain range, and the strange sense of reminiscence it brought about placated my fears, if only for a moment.

I trekked downhill, using the small, winding path that snaked along the decline towards the river. It'd taken time, years ago, but we'd actually succeeded in making artificial stepping-stones, the result of a single days' gruesome work, involving the act of carrying boulders large enough to peek out from the stream's depth.

Of course, we could only accomplish the feat after Somin and Vita had evolved to their final forms. For the initial four months we'd spent on Twist, we had to use a log as a means of crossing the water, often slippery.

Hypothermia was commonplace during those times.

I was determined, however, to use my new knowledge of walking to cross the river on my own. I declined Somin's request to help, even if I knew I was making a bad decision. The stepping stones were dry, thankfully, and were only a few feet apart from one another. I was confident I could make that simple of a jump, even without extensive knowledge on physical activity.

I paused for a moment at the river's edge, gathering my bearings. I would push off with my hind legs, and try to brace myself with my front as I connected with the stone. The only issue would be how hard to propel myself.

Wiggling my haunches a small bit in preparation, I exhaled sharply, and proceeded jump forward.

Those few seconds through the air were terrifying. My mind panicked, afraid I would land into the freezing water, and be left there to fend for myself. I couldn't hope to swim should I fall in, I would only flail until someone saved me, or lost energy and drowned.

This was a bad idea…

Yet, against all odds, I made it, struggling to stop my momentum fast enough as to not tip over the back edge. I felt myself going over, however, and in a completely instinctual reaction, extended my legs once more.

I landed clean on the next boulder, adjusting my footing a small bit to accommodate for the excess momentum. When I knew I was safe, however, I chuckled to myself in victory. I was already almost halfway across! I had nothing to worry about, it was jumping, for Arceus' sake! How could I screw that much up?

I positioned myself to continue forward after giving a glance at Somin, who had since leaped back across the river in a single stride. Narrowing my eyes resolutely, I jumped forward, myself.

My confidence was instantly vanquished as something hard, extremely blunt, and overall forceful, catapulted into my side as I was in mid-air. Yelping, I was knocked off-course, perpendicular to my target.

In that half second, my entire world slowed down. I turned my head as fast as I could to get a grasp on what the cause of the contact was, eyes widening when I found the source.

All I could perceive, however, before the icy water met my body, was a blur of blue and green, and black.

The breath knocked out of me, I tried gulping in air as I was submerged, met only with liquid invading my lungs. The object eventually rolled off of me, leaving my tiny form to struggle towards the surface, coughing all the way.

Those few seconds had to have been the longest of my life, during which I took notice of many small details.

First and foremost, was how tired I felt. Exhaustion, source unknown, instantly drowned out any physical pain I felt from the strike. My hurried leg-strokes were nothing more than flails as a result, and did little to get me anywhere.

Even if I was able to make a concentrated effort in swimming, I wouldn't make it far. Firstly, I didn't know which way was up. I was in too much shock to figure that out on my own. Second, the water, instantly soaking my fur, ladened it considerably. It felt as if my weight had doubled. The cold wasn't even a factor, I didn't perceive the temperature with my state of mind.

My consciousness was fading fast, and it wasn't a result of the water, either. No, I would at least hope not to drown that quickly. Why was I so tired? My eyes closed as my strokes only became more and more feeble.

I barely heard a splash, promptly before something, something familiar, wrapped around me and tugged at my body forcefully. I was dragged out of the water, and into the freezing air outside.

I shut my eyes.

* * *

"Hnngh…"

 _Ugh… Wha… Why do I feel so tired? I can't move…_

Something was stroking my fur the wrong way, I instantly noticed as awareness fully returned. It felt oddly uncomfortable, having the hairs bent not in their intended direction. Yet, it felt warm, slowly ridding me of the freezing cold I woke with.

I tried opening my eyes, making any movement whatsoever. I was able to shift slightly, but that was the extent of my physical capability. My hearing was also impaired; I only heard half of the conversation around me.

"… just don't know… so goddamn… What… think that… idea?"

I shifted once more, finally finding the strength to blink my eyes open drearily.

The first sight that came to me was that of a flickering, orange fire. I lay only a few feet away, feeling the warmth it brought to my fur. It burned slightly, to be honest, but I didn't have the strength to care.

Yet, that wasn't all… I wasn't on the ground, instead raised up a small bit, my body laying on something soft.

"Ray? How're you feeling?"

That… That was Vita's voice… I turned my head, agonizingly slow, towards where I imagined she was.

Her head resided directly above my own. I could only see part of her face, and even that much required craning my neck as far as it would currently allow me.

"Don't try to get up. You took a hard hit."

Tiring out, I let my head come back to rest, on what I imagined was the Serperior herself. I was fast to piece together what had occurred, and only felt more lethargic with the memory.

Yet, I didn't have enough time to reminisce, seeing as I felt that object, the one from before, continue in its stroking of my fur. Slightly irritated at the uncomfortable contact, I turned back in Vita's direction.

"Uhh… Vita?" I squeaked as I saw what she was doing.

She was… Licking me… As in, actually rubbing her tongue up and down my fur. I no longer cared about the warmth it brought to my still-damp fur. Instead, I lay there, helpless as I sent her a pleading stare.

"Hmm?"

"Can you… not?" I begged, attempting to struggle away from her. Some of my strength seemed to be returning. She held me in a wrap, so I doubted it would matter either way, whether or not I was capable of moving much.

"No," she said simply, getting back to her work. Reluctant, I turned back around and wiggled a small bit, hoping to squirm away.

"Don't make me hold you down, Ray," she then voiced, sternly. "You know I will, and this is happening, one way or another. I'm not having you with hypothermia, understand?"

Exasperated, I turned towards where I expected the rest of the team to be, for help. It appeared we were back inside the cave, the firelight enough to illuminate the interior. It seemed the sun had set, or was currently lowering, outside, considering the dusky contrast to the flame.

The first being my sight came across was Jet, who seemed disinterested in the exchange. Looking for help, however, and doubting he would be of much assistance, I turned more, until my eyes lay on Victor.

He seemed concerned, staring at me oddly, before realizing I was gazing back. He instantly put on a mask of lightheartedness as he studied me further.

I sent him a pleading look, gesturing up towards Vita. As if on cue, her tongue moved to assault the tuft of fur atop my head. Shuddering, I let out a quiet whine and a squirm. The Serperior responded by silently continuing in a more forceful manner.

Victor narrowed his eyes, as if contemplating whether or not to help, followed by an apologetic shake of his head. I harrumphed quietly, and tried to ignore Vita as best as possible as I continued surveying the cave.

I hadn't noticed it prior, but found a long stick, skewering the bodies of a few fish-like creatures, being held above the fire. On the other end was Axle, sitting quietly on his hind legs as he concentrated on roasting the meat.

A closer inspection revealed all of the prey to be Basculin, known for their delectable taste. My mouth watered at the sight, my longing only reinforced with the knowledge I was physically unable to enjoy the meat.

"Somin took the one that attacked you for himself," Axle said out of nowhere, giving me a glance. "He didn't even want to cook it, not like I could, either way… Thing was too mutilated to stay on a stick." The Swampert chuckled. "Look at you… Getting into a fight already. I'd say you're almost as cocky as Somin."

"It's not my fault," I replied indignantly, cringing as Vita moved on to my left ear. "I didn't wanna fight."

"I know," Axle said, "I'm screwing with you. I know well enough what actually happened. You were only out for about a half hour, either way. Headbutt hurts like a bitch."

I kept reluctantly silent. Of course, Basculin was dubbed the 'Hostile Pokémon' for a reason. I'd never suspected one would come for me, however.

There were two classifications of Pokémon unconnected with a Pokéball or trainer. The first were simply referred to as 'wild', and were sentient creatures, previously released or raised in intelligent communities. All of the members of my current team were sentient before I found them, thankfully (the single exception was Axle, whom I had hatched).

The second, and more common form of wild Pokémon were the ferals, simply creatures without self-awareness. It took effort to train them, if caught, a lot of time would pass before they eventually caught on and gained consciousness. I'd caught a few in the past, we never tolerated each other's presence long, leading to eventual release.

The Basculin had to be one; most ferals were highly territorial, and a pain to deal with, honestly.

A sight, or more accurately, the lack thereof, caught my eye.

"Where'd Somin go?"

"He said he was 'checking the area'," Jet replied harshly. "Probably just off having another tantrum."

"Doubt it," Victor responded in Somin's defense. "He stayed long enough to start the fire. He probably just wanted to eat his food raw." The Durant then addressed me. "He left only a few minutes before you woke up."

I sighed, I tried my best to push back against Vita's force, which was rocking my head back and forth irritatingly.

"Vita," I said as sternly as possible. "I think I'm dry now, don't you?"

The Serperior huffed behind me, promptly before lifting my body off of hers.

"You're staying by the fire. Understand?"

Happy for the improvement, I nodded, positioning myself in a comfortable posture as I was set down.

"We should probably figure out what to do from here," Axle spoke, breaking an extended period of silence.

"What choice do we have? Icirrus is really the only option right now. Even if there are other villages nearby, none are closer."

"I do have another idea," Vita said in response to Jet. "What if we—"

"Good, you're up."

Everyone turned their heads towards the entrance of the cave, and the Zoroark that resided there.

"Hi, Somin," I said simply, for lack of a better phrase.

"Somin," Vita greeted, a mask of indifference covering her annoyance.

"Come on," the Zoroark said, gesturing towards me. "You ready?"

"Wait, for what?"

"You forgot that quickly? The sun's setting, Ray. I thought you were excited about illusions."

I started, instinctively getting up into a standing position. All fatigue no longer had a place in my mind.

"Somin!" Axle exclaimed, astonished. "He literally _just_ woke up. Shouldn't we wait a little? His energy mustn't even be—"

"Relax," he replied, brushing the Swampert off. "I won't push him too hard, and either way…"

He pinched an object in between two of his claws for all to see. Multiple objects, in fact, ones I instantly recognized, having become extremely familiar with the items during my years as a trainer.

"Oran Berries?"

"I know you know what they do, but try it out for yourself," the Zoroark replied indirectly, walking towards me. As he was doing so, he poked a hole in one of the fruit, allowing its juice to trickle out.

Knowing the drill of consumption, I let the liquid trickle down my throat after he positioned the berry correctly. My standing with the Berry, as applies to gustation, was set in stone. I'd always loved how sweet Oran Berries tasted, without transitioning into the sour category.

I tried ignoring how I must've looked from a third-person perspective, suckling on a Berry held by a larger creature.

Within a few seconds, the Berry was dry, and I felt… Odd. I'd never felt this way after consumption as a human. The worst part about it was the fact it was damn near impossible to describe. It felt as if something had been turned on within my chest, creating a nearly indistinguishable buzzing feeling throughout my body.

"Umm… I feel weird."

"Good, it's working then," Somin replied, poking a hole in another Berry to repeat the process.

I noticed the rest of the team held little interest in the exchange. Victor and Jet had started their own, quiet conversation, Axle focused on his cooking, and Vita… Well, Vita was difficult to read. She seemed reluctant to my getting up so soon after being knocked out, but opted against speaking out in unfavor.

I didn't give it much mind, instead focusing on the rapidly growing hum inside my chest. The greatest comparison I could give it would be to the feeling of a sugar rush. I found myself twitching involuntarily after the third Berry.

"That's probably enough," Somin said after I'd consumed, by my count, six. "Let's roll."

"It's probably too much, is what it is," Vita replied snarkily. "He's going to crash, Somin…"

Before I could ask Somin what the Serperior spoke of, he responded. "Maybe… He needs all the energy he can get right now, though, don't you think?" When she didn't respond, he continued. "Time to go."

"Can we come?"

I turned my head to watch Victor, Jet in tow, as they approached.

"You wanna watch? Feel free… Won't be very interesting at first, though," Somin replied nonchalantly, lifting me up from the ground.

"I don't mind," Victor responded. Jet looked as if he was trying to feign indifference.

The Zoroark lifted me from the ground and stuck me against his ribcage as he shrugged. He gave a small, concerned glance at Vita, almost indistinguishable, before exiting the cave.

"You feel it, don't you?" he asked as we left. Victor and Jet followed close behind.

"The buzz?" I responded.

"Yeah, like, something's shaking inside you. That's the Oran at work."

"Oran Berries… They help to heal, don't they?"

"True, but it's a bit more than that, too. At the very least," he grunted as he leapt across the creek. Victor used the stepping stones while Jet took flight. "Orans give a nice boost in your energy. Our power works wonders, Ray. Like I said, it increases physical strength, but it can also shorten healing time, especially if an Oran or Sitrus is involved… Our energy… It's what makes us different from all living things. And by that, I mean, we can't live without it."

He continued onwards, into the forest. "When you're eating certain types of Berries, you can actually feel how it interacts with your energy. I will say it's probably one of the easiest ways to learn how to employ it in combat for the first time. It helps to know what you're trying to use, what it feels like when strengthened, before giving it a go."

He chuckled. "I remember, when my village first tried teaching me, they tricked me into eating something like eight Sitrus Berries. I swear, I didn't sleep for weeks."

His joke, even if it held realistic undertones, got me chuckling a small but alongside him. I was glad, though, that even through my transformation, I was able to retain the ability to perform such a simple, alleviating function. It felt good to laugh.

"Your village taught you? You never really talked about your life before the team." Victor asked from behind.

"Well, I guess. It's how everything worked, really. There weren't exactly parental figures. It was more like the village raises the children. Not even sure if I ever met my parents…"

He trailed off, seemingly deep in thought for a few seconds.

"It's okay, though! I mean, hell, sure, I imprinted on the Zoroark who hatched me… Caya was her name. But knowing that she wasn't my mom let me get over my attachment faster. You know how that works, right Ray?"

"Yeah, I guess," I said. When Pokémon were born, they had a tendency to become attached, or 'imprint' on the first being they saw. Eventually, they grew out of it, but until then, would be unusually emotionally dependent on that figure.

"Somin," I addressed, staring at the sun setting below the horizon through the treetops. They were starting to lose their leaves, giving the branches a desolate appearance. "You said earlier we had to do this at night… Why?"

"We're here!" the Zoroark announced, paying no mind to my question. He finally set me down onto the smooth grass below.

"Somin… What are we even doing?"

"Just… Sit tight for a moment."

I sighed, instinctively taking a seat on my haunches, before realizing how odd it felt to do so. My legs weren't supposed to bend like that… Just another change I would have to deal with.

We were in a clearing, a circle of treeless wildlife, completely open to the purple sky above. Jet perched on a tree a distance away, while Victor laid himself down at the base of another.

Another glance at the clearing revealed to me the fact it was our main training grounds. I hadn't noticed it, but memories came flooding back as I observed the stumps and pile of logs near a single edge. Many days, we'd come here to spar, exercise, or anything else one could imagine. It worked wonders.

We had to have waited for a solid ten minutes in absolute silence. The buzzing feeling remained present, and it took all I had not to get up and waste my excess energy through walking around. I twitched multiple times per minute, whether from anxiety or the equivalent of a sugar high, I had no idea.

The wind whistled, now ominously, between the trees. To be honest, I was starting to become more and more anxious as time went on. Was I supposed to do something without being told? Somin was absentmindedly sitting, facing away from me. His gaze was directed straight at the sky.

Within that time, the area around us had gotten progressively darker, traces and streaks of purple in the sky were gradually disappearing. The moon would soon rise.

"Here we go," Somin said, excitedly, turning rapidly towards me.

"Ray," he said. "Each elemental typing has their own, different form of power, which shapes the moves they have. As I said, it increases strength and healing speed, but, depending on the type, it may work the other way around."

The moon peeked over the horizon as he continued. "Nature itself, in many cases, may strengthen your power considerably. Fire types thrive in extremely hot climates, Water Types during the rain or underwater. Dark Types, like you and I…"

He trailed off as the moon's light appeared to crawl across the clearing. I was staring at Somin oddly throughout the explanation, shifting uncomfortably, when it touched me.

Instantly upon being bathed in its white light, I felt… Magnificent. The buzzing was still present, strengthened, even, but not in a bad way. No longer able to sit still, I got up, staring down at myself incredulously.

"I don't get to do this often," Somin said, exhaling calmly as the light washed over him.

"Holy crap… I knew you were strengthened at night, Somin, but this… This is…"

"Awesome?"

I laughed in amazement. Never had I felt like this before. Was it possible to feel like this every night?

"Just… Stay still for a moment," he then said, prompting me to freeze. "You feel something else, don't you? Take a good look at your energy, Ray, and tell me what you feel."

Narrowing my eyes and nodding my, head, I followed his instruction, finding it better to concentrate if my eyes were closed. There was something… familiar, about the sensation I noticed. Yet, I couldn't quite deduce what. A warmth… That's what was new. It pulsed with my own heartbeat, I could feel it shifting around. It took a few seconds to recognize it.

"Mew?" I asked quickly and hopefully as I opened my eyes. I spun my head around, searching for some sign of the legendary. The heat, that pulsating feeling, it felt exactly like what I felt when her power was inside me, if dulled considerably.

"What? Where?"

"Oh," I replied, realizing I'd called the legendary out loud. "It's nothing, I promise."

"You sure? I want to know if she's around..."

"Yeah… Yeah… I'm sure."

The Zoroark look at me skeptically, before nodding and turning.

"Your core," he said simply.

"What?"

"The source of your power, that's what you're feeling. The core."

He turned on me, approaching at a rapid clip.

"It's, to put it basically, your life force. Except, now, that yours is enhanced, you can feel it. We need it to as strong as possible if I'm going to teach you how to do this. Hence, why I waited until night… Feeling better from earlier?"

No remains of my prior fatigue remained, washed away by those Oran Berries and the moon itself. Putting on a determined smirk, I nodded.

"Alright, then… How's about we get started?"

Somin let illusionary power seep into his claws, shrouding them a pinkish-purple tint. The way the shine reflected off his face, shading his contours, shed an air of extreme intimidation.

I was too focused on that as to not notice the imminent threat ahead.

From nowhere, he pushed off the ground, lunging forwards in aggression. His claws were poised perfectly to strike me dead in the chest. I had no time whatsoever to react before the suddenly raging Zoroark was upon me.

All I could do was let out a fearful yelp.

* * *

 **Before anything, I wanted to make this chapter a lighthearted integration into Ray's new lifestyle. I enjoyed writing out the changes and similarities in each character's interactions with him.**

 **The dream, whether obvious or not, was written as an odd, symbolic interpretation of the inner conflicts in a certain character. As to who that is I'll leave it up for interpretation.**

 **Hope you all enjoyed!**


	8. A New Life, A New Face

**l**

 **Chapter VII - A New Life, A New Face**

* * *

My mind was sent into overdrive as the recognition of Somin's assault set in. I, in a split second reaction, tried jumping to the side, only for my legs to slide out from underneath me. I lay on my side, impending doom directly in front of me.

Frantic, I rolled to my right, unable to restabilize myself. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a set of claws connect with the ground, where I'd been not a moment before.

"Somin!? What are you doing!?" I yelled, getting back to my feet. One moment, the Zoroark had been placid, but in the next, was aggressive without warning or provocation. He was speaking about the start to his teaching of illusions, why was he attacking me? Did he snap for whatever reason?

He, in response, rose from his crouched position, staring at me menacingly with a single eye. I backed up slowly as to not agitate him further, giving a small glance towards where I imagined Victor and—

Something picked me up by the scruff, prompting me to wriggle in its grasp. It lifted me high in the air, before rotating me to stare it dead in the face.

"Number one use of illusions… Distract the enemy to dispatch them quickly."

I gawked oddly at the Zoroark pinching the skin on the back of my neck uncomfortably. I rolled my eyes when I pieced together the mental puzzle of his sudden aggression. As expected, the other, aggressive Zoroark had disappeared.. I sighed, the realization I'd been so easily tricked setting in

"Now you're dead," Somin then said lightheartedly, closing his eyes contentedly and touching the tip of another claw to the end of my nose. Narrowing my eyes, I growled, putting on as intimidating a show as I could.

Apparently, a tiny Zorua wasn't much for invoking trepidation, considering the Zoroark let out a laugh before setting me back on the ground.

I'd been traveling with the Zoroark for years on end. The fact I hadn't developed an immunity, or even a resistance to his illusions baffled me.

"Now," he said as I turned back towards him. "Two rules, really simple ones you're gonna have to follow."

"Just tell me," I said, sighing. The sooner we could get started, the better.

"I told you about the first," he explained. "Don't over-exert yourself… I don't wanna have to deal with trying to get you back to normal while you're depleted."

"Fair enough," I responded, inferring his hidden meaning. If I were to 'over-exert' myself, the consequence would be 'depletion'… What in the world did that mean?

"Second," he continued. "And this is a personal rule, and a little bit of an extra incentive to learn quickly."

Before he spoke again, I took note of my jaw going slack. For whatever, indescribable reason, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't move my mouth.

"No talking. At all. Not a word until you figure out how to speak in here," he said, pointing at his head, and further, his mind.

He, out of nowhere, groaned and cringed as if a sudden twinge of pain shot through his head. He stopped a few seconds later, panting for breath. He threw an object, what I took to be an Oran Berry, into his mouth.

I struggled to make a sound, but all I could conjure was a few, feeble and muffled sounds, my mouth shut tight.

Between his heavy breathing, he spoke once more, "Don't even try… I gave that one enough juice for at _least_ until tomorrow. They're hard as hell to conjure." He paused, "I have you to thank for training me _sooo_ well, don't I? Couldn't've done it without ya, bud."

I internally screamed at the taunting smirk gracing the Zoroark's face. A whole slew of curses came to the tip of my tongue.

"Now…" he then said, ignoring my struggle completely.

" _I'm a fair 'mon…"_ his voice reappeared in my head. " _If you're not speaking, then neither will I. Either way, it would be bad to talk about how to use this kinda stuff around those two._ "

He gestured his head towards the spectators of the lesson. Victor was watching with a careful eye, and it seemed Jet had dozed off.

" _This is the kinda stuff I never tell anyone,_ " he continued. " _It's just… not a thing you share with others. You guys are family and everything, but…_ "

He audibly sighed. " _Secrets between species are hardly ever shared. It's why science knows so little about us and what we can do. I guess, though, that I know a lot of things most Zoroark don't. Just… Bottom line… Do me a favor and don't tell anyone how any of this works. Every species has its secrets, and this is ours._ _Only one I've ever told anything is Vita, and that's cause we're… well…"_

He paused, scratching his head uncomfortably.

" _Moving on, got a little carried away there,_ " he redirected.

His spiel had caught my attention, to the point I'd stopped struggling to break through my speech impediment. Why had he gotten so uncomfortable near the end of his monologue?

" _Ready to start?_ " he asked, hoping to change the subject. I decided to indulge him, spitefully nodding my head.

" _Alrighty… Let's see… Where to start… Just… Focus on your core. You should still be feeling it."_

I nodded again in confirmation, unable to affirm him in any other way.

" _Okay. You'll figure out that the energy coming from your core is moldable. It's hard to explain, but if you imagine, for example, a pair of hands shaping your energy like clay, you can change it._ "

I was soon to become dumbstruck. What did this have to do with illusions?

" _By extension, you can move it around and mold it inside you. In the beginning, when I was figuring out how to do this, I thought of it like I was building barriers inside me, blocking the energy from moving to certain parts of my body._ "

He turned behind him to find a tree stump. Shrugging his shoulders, he sat, back leaning against it, and beckoned me to join him. Still frustrated at his forceful silencing, I sat where I was, across from him. He continued without skipping a beat.

" _At rest, your energy lies in your chest, as I'm sure you've figured out. Any move is initiated when you squeeze your power into the part of the body you want to use. For you, I'm gonna have you start with your destination right in your head, just to make it easy"_

He sighed, realizing his explanation was confusing me greatly.

" _Look… You can practice and experiment with this all you want when I'm done explaining. This entire thing needs to be done pretty fast, or else it fails. So, lemme run you through it, then you can try however you want, cool?_ "

Despite the headache rapidly forming from my confusion, I nodded.

" _Okay… Once you feel you channeled enough power into your head, you want to shape it like a rope, one that you can throw. Then… You just… Well… Imagine you're throwing that rope, so it touches me. If you do it right, it'll connect, and the hard part's over."_

I sighed, almost retaining no information from his explanation whatsoever.

" _Lot harder than you thought, huh? Well, it becomes second nature really fast. You end up skipping a few steps after a bit of practice. You eventually get to the point where you don't even have to think about it anymore… Either way, try it out_."

Contorting my face into a grimace, I complied, focusing on my 'core'. It pulsed steadily with the extra stimulus it was receiving, prompting me to shiver with the unfamiliarity.

Like Somin explained, I imagined 'squeezing' my power, hoping to redirect it to my brain. I smirked a small bit when I felt a steady trickle of warmth run up my spine and into my head.

Then it got complicated. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out how to shape the energy the way I wanted it without relinquishing control of where it went. Whenever I tried forming it into a rope or string, like Somin had explained, I had to tear my attention away from its movement, causing it to recede back into my chest.

I then got an idea. If Somin said I would learn to skip steps, then what would happen if I were to gloss over its molding?

I decided I would try it. Instead of letting the energy come to a rest within my head, I simply squeezed it even farther, and felt it leave my being altogether, expelled in Somin's direction.

Bad idea…

I groaned through closed lips as fatigue instantly traveled through my body, prompting me to lay my head on my paws in defeat.

" _Well,_ " Somin said nonchalantly. " _Now you know what happens if you skip steps without practice. That wasn't an illusionary connection. It was more a simple power wave than anything. Just a waste of energy when it isn't formed and amassed properly._ "

I opened my eyes to find his eyes staring into my own.

" _And don't use everything you have, unless you absolutely have to. We're taking baby steps here, simple illusions don't need that much force._ "

 _Thanks for telling me that before…_

My own self-pity was interrupted when an Oran Berry entered my line of vision, already pierced and dripping.

" _Drink up and try again._ _You're doing better than I did my first time._ "

He released his hold on my jaw long enough for me to take a drink. When I was done, however, I felt his influence promptly return to silence me.

I felt strong enough once more to sit up and try once more, exhaling through my nose in preparation.

I sat there for a few moments, creating a game plan as to how I would approach the task at hand.

A single memory crossed my mind, gaining my attention as if it were artificially placed. It came out of nowhere, and yet, it worked extremely effectively. I closed my eyes in thought.

I saw myself once more in Opelucid, facing my assailants. Mew's power had infiltrated my system, and my hand was raised at the ready.

I remembered…

 _The mysterious entity began to allow for the shift of the comforting heat within me. It felt like floodgates were closing and opening simultaneously, allowing for the sensation, what I took to be energy, amass in my outstretched hand while taking from the rest of my body._

 _Before I could object to what was happening, the pooled energy spiked one, final time, sending a harsh wave of air in every direction and sectioning the warmth in my hand off from that in my chest. My hair stood on end for a moment, as did the mens', before it passed._

 _A dot of light formed in my outstretched palm, slowly growing as I felt a portion of the warmth float up and permeate the skin of my fingers. I had no control over it as it began to become the size of a baseball, and still growing._

Separating it from the source… If I could shape my energy, what stopped me from cutting it into portions and shaping it from there? Would that prevent its recession back into my core?

I experimented, pooling a small amount of energy in my head. Taking a deep breath, I imagined running a knife cutting through the attachment to my core.

Much to my surprise, I succeeded in severing the connection, but instead of the energy remaining there consistently, it started diminishing, disappearing altogether before I could hope to start molding it.

I grunted in frustration, and not wasting any time, tried again, experimenting with a larger sample.

When I felt it start to shrink once more, I hastily thinned it out into a line and expelled a single end from my mind, eyes flying open, towards Somin without care.

His snout was faced towards the ground, eyes closed in what seemed to be a form of meditation. When I felt the other end of my power successfully connect with him, though, his eyes shot open, head risen to meet my face's struggle-laden grimace instantly.

"What?!" he said aloud, jumping up from his seat on the ground. "Holy crap! Feed it! Give it more juice!" he yelled, instantly overjoyed and obviously excited.

Panicking, I removed the partition separating the energy in my head and my core, allowing for the snake of warmth to travel up my spine once more and reconnect. The string connecting Somin and I didn't disappear, thankfully. Instead, it was reinforced; I could feel a steady stream of power connecting us.

"You did it!" he gasped, astonished, bouncing up and down giddily. "No goddamn way! You're not supposed to figure out how to figure it out that fast! How?! I didn't show you how to do this before, did I?!"

I shut my eyes tight once more, starting to feel the drag of energy leaving my body. I was getting more and more exhausted by the second.

" _Okayokayokay_ ," his voice reappeared in my head. " _Don't lose concentration. The hard part's out of the way. Just… just… think of something to say, let the words appear in your mind, and imagine you're sending the sound through our connection. It's one of the easiest and most simple types of illusion, but try to do it fast. You'll fade out if you keep it up too long._ "

Taking in a shaky breath, I hardly had to think of what I had to say. By then, my whole body was shaking with the effort of feeding the connection, having kept it open throughout his entire explanation. I had to do this quickly.

I thought of how the words would sound if I'd said them aloud, focused on that alone, and depicted myself shoving the phrase through our connection, as if it were a tunnel. With one final heave, I sent it off, severing the rope and collapsing to the ground as soon as I was finished. My legs felt like putty, as if the energy infused with the muscles there was now completely drained.

A second passed… Two… Nothing happened. I was too exhausted to open my eyes and gauge Somin's reaction. All I heard were my own, feeble pants.

" _That's what you chose to say?_ " his voice sounded in my head. " _Well then,"_ he continued, a tone of giddiness starting to shine throughout his words. "' _Screw you' too_."

I had no time to react as I felt both sets of Somin's claws fit under my arms. In a split second, I was being twirled about in the air by an uncontrollably laughing Zoroark.

"You did it!" or another exclamation along those lines, was all that exited his mouth between laughter for a solid thirty seconds. I felt my lower quarters flying about at will, suspended in the air. I needn't have opened my eyes to infer he was spinning in place, holding me above his head in praise and joviality. I didn't have the mind to protest his treatment of me as a smaller being.

Rarely did the Zoroark get this excited about anything. It felt good to know that he, too, was able to retain some hint of normalcy with everything that had happened.

His revelry was infectious; I felt the smallest of smirks hit my face before he calmed down. Noticing how tired I felt, he ruffled the tuft of hair atop my head for a moment before placing me in his mane. It felt much warmer than it had before. Exhaustedly content with myself, I shut my eyes and slept sound.

* * *

I had the dream… again. The one about the boy and the Zorua. Every tiny detail was exactly the same, no deviation from how I'd seen it the previous afternoon was present.

The Zorua still died in the boy's arms as he rushed to get help, I was forced to watch from the his point of view.

I still had no idea what it meant. No recollection of the event came to mind. In any case, I never remembered the events in the dream.

I groggily woke, blinking my eyes drearily. I seemed to be slowly conditioning to the fact I was a Zorua, considering the extent of my reaction was a simple start. I quickly calmed myself down, however.

It seemed I'd woken before anyone else. Sure, all I could see was a wall of flesh, most likely Vita's, but I couldn't hear any bustle in the cave around us. Even her own, steady breathing, and the way it rocked me back and forth betrayed the fact she was asleep as well.

For the first time in days, I actually had some time to myself. I didn't quite know how to feel about it. I thought I would've been appreciative of the silence.

I sighed. The pure awe of the fact I knew how to conjure a simple illusion aside, what were we to do? Of course, going to Icirrus would be dangerous, potentially deadly, even. But how was I supposed to get help on a mountainside? I surely doubted the extent of science into this field of… _study_ … But who knew? Maybe someone would be of assistance.

As much as I hated the guy, maybe Brycen wouldn't blab about us to everyone if we were to go straight to him. Then again, I would probably an international criminal if they figured out, rather, _when_ they figured out I was affiliated with the complete destruction of Mt. Chimney. If they already didn't know, that is.

Gym Leaders played a key role in government. Their role as the strongest trainer in town gave them major political standing. When they weren't handing out Gym Badges, most of their time was spent doing the jobs normal police task forces could not complete.

Maybe, though, if I were to seek out the help of a Gym leader I knew extremely well… Heading on the backside of the range to Mistralton was always an option to see Skyla, if she'd already returned there from Opelucid.

No, it was too risky…

There were too many factors influencing both sides of the argument. Maybe, when the team woke up, I could get their opini—

 _I WANNA BE THE VERY BEST, LIKE NO ONE EVER WAS!_

Vita's breath hitched as the song played at an incredibly high volume, out of complete nothingness.

"What is that?" Axle's groggy voice called from across the cave.

 _TO CATCH THEM IS MY REAL TEST, TO TRAIN THEM IS MY CAUSE!_

"Ray! I thought you changed this goddamn ringtone!" Somin shouted.

My Pokénav… I'd completely forgotten about it. Someone was calling… I wriggled out from the coil in which I slept to see Somin reaching into my backpack for it. He couldn't quite seem to get his arms at the right angle, however.

"I got it!" Vita offered, uncoiling and slithering forward while diving a vine into the bag to assist Somin.

 _I WILL TRAVEL ACROSS THE LAND, SEARCHING FAR AND WIDE!_

The Serperior was quick to get a hold of the device, but a miscommunication caused for Somin to try and snatch it from her as she drew it from the pack. Vita lost her grip, causing for the plastic contraption to clatter against the stone floor before Somin could catch it. The ringtone instantly stopped, the cave sent into instant silence along with it.

A few seconds passed and nothing happened. No one dared move an inch.

" _Ray?"_ a female voice sounded from the device. " _You there? Your camera's blocked."_

"Shiiiiiit," Axle seethed, stalking slowly forward to cancel the call.

" _Ray?_ " the voice then said, starting to choke up. " _Please, answer me._ "

I thought I'd recognized the voice, but blanched when my suspicion was affirmed. There was only one girl in the world, at present, who I knew well enough as to label her voice instantly.

Axle froze, seemingly recognizing who it was, as well.

"Oh… Arceus, damn it," Somin whispered, inching towards the device.

" _Y-you're not in t-trouble, Ray…_ " the tearful voice resumed. " _I know t-there's a reason to what you did. I k-know you're sca-scared, but please… If not in person, please talk to me here. I need to know you're alright…"_

"What do we do?" I tried hissing, promptly before feeling Somin's illusionary influence keep the clamp on my mouth shut. All that resulted were a few mumbles. Had he never dropped it? Sure, he'd mentioned keeping it up for a day, but I'd thought he was joking.

"You're still not allowed to talk," he responded without turning to face me. He must have heard my muffled curses.

" _Was that Somin?! Ray, are you there?!_ "

The Zoroark sighed, turning to ask Vita a question with his eyes. After a moment of mental deliberation, she nodded solemnly.

Somin looked forlornly at the ground, and shut his eyes in deep concentration. He sat down, crossing his legs and hanging his head, relaxing his spine.

" _Ray. We need to know what's going on. We can't do that unless you talk to me. So ple—"_

"I'm here, Skyla."

Needless to say, I was quite shocked to hear my own voice again. My _human_ voice. Of course, I was struggling to break through Somin's illusion and open my mouth, but froze when I heard it.

My voice… It held a physical tone. I knew it wasn't only in my head. But how? Illusions weren't supposed to be able to travel through technology. There would be no way the Mistralton City Gym Leader could possibly hear my voice.

" _Ray! Thank Arceus you're alright. What happened to you? Where are you?_ "

"I'm fine," my voice responded. "There's… a lot going on right now… I'm sorry, I just can't explain it here."

 _H-how are they talking to each other? This shouldn't be possible!_

" _Nonono, that's fine, just… Stay on the line, please. I've been trying to call you for days. Can you tell me where you are? I can come pick you up._ "

"Thanks, Skyla, but I can't… Maybe when things get sorted out, but right now…"

My voice paused, and left it at that.

" _Can I at least see you? Make sure you're alright?_ "

Somin audibly sighed behind closed eyelids, and proceeded to grimace as his entire body became host to a pink light.

Not two seconds later, my human body stood where he sat.

'I' grabbed the Pokénav from the ground and held it up to 'my' face.

"There," my voice said.

" _Oh, Ray… You look horrible… You look like you haven't eaten in weeks! Are you sure you're alright? Nothing's hurting you, is it?_ "

"No, I'm fine," Somin replied simply. My voice was starting to sound strained, but why? Illusions like this, at least in Somin's perspective, were easy to keep up.

" _Damn it! No, you're not! I can tell… I can tell you're in a really deep hole right now, Ray. You might have a gun to your head for all I know! Are you alone? Where's your te—_ "

"Skyla, just stop… Please… You're gonna have to trust me on…"

I heard an audible grunt of effort, Somin's real voice, break through the illusion. The human's body standing before me wavered as if it were made of light.

"Tr-trust me."

The other end of the line remained silent for a moment or two.

" _I have no idea how you're making me see illusions through a Pokénav, Somin, but cut it out, alright? Let me talk to my nephew. Now._ "

The illusion fell, leaving behind an agitated Zoroark. He glared down at the screen as a growl rumbled in his throat.

"You caught me," he said aggressively; his voice ruptured the air, using the same kind of physical illusion as he conjured my voice with. "How's this… Leave us alone… We'll come back when we're damn well ready. Don't call us again."

Gripping the device in a single claw, he initiated a throw, aiming for the opposite end of the cave.

" _Somin, wait! Is Ray okay?! They said you were with Mew! Is that true? Is she_ —"

I caught a glimpse of the screen as Somin catapulted the device forward with a yell. I saw what a miserable state the Gym Leader was in. Her red hair was unbrushed and clumsily done. Her large, blue eyes were red and puffy at the edges. She was obviously, if the previous conversation was of any indication, upset.

For a split second, I thought I saw those tear-riddled eyes focus dead on me.

The device went flying through the air at an incredible clip. I looked away, expecting to hear a loud smash as the plastic shattered against the rock wall.

Yet, when nothing happened, I turned to find Axle had caught it and severed the connection to the distraught Gym Leader.

Nobody moved. Thirty seconds must have passed in silence, the only deviation being Somin's labored breathing…

… Before he collapsed altogether.

The cave remained dead silent and unmoving, even as his body hit the ground with a hard thud.

I finally wriggled out of Vita's grasp with a grunt, instantly stumbling towards the grounded Zoroark as my paws hit the floor.

It took me a second to realize I couldn't ask whether or not he was okay, promoting a few, muffled words of frustration.

His breathing was shaky, rather than even; he was still conscious. His eyes were shut tight as if he were in pain.

I turned back towards Vita, giving her a command with my eyes alone. She shook her head quickly, as if to clear it of indecisiveness, before slithering forward.

She whispered a few words in the grounded Zoroark's ear, followed by the faintest of nods in return.

Taking note of his weak confirmation, she started using Synthesis without word. I turned away as she opened her mouth to breathe a soft coating bluish-green powder over the entirety of the Zoroark's body.

By then, I was glaring resolutely at the rest of the Pokémon present. Axle and Victor were frozen in place. They couldn't wrap their heads around Somin's rapid-setting fatigue.

Jet was still nowhere to be found. I wouldn't be surprised if he hadn't even come back the previous night.

I snarled, mostly to myself, in mental preparation for what I was about to do.

 _Screw it…_

If Somin was so dead-set on keeping my mouth shut, I would play by his rules.

As quickly as I could, wasting as little time and energy as possible, I let a significant amount of power fester in my mind, shifted it into the same 'rope' shape as the previous night, and shot the open end towards Axle, specifically.

I grit my teeth, instantly feeling fatigue start to work its way into my system.

" _Snap out of it!_ " I yelled, shoving the words through our connection as fast as possible. " _Go find some berries, and tell Victor to go help Vita with whatever she needs… Now!"_

I severed the string, cringing when I felt the after-effects of my energy expenditure. Successful, however, even if it did take longer to establish my commands than speech alone, I commended myself.

I ignored the exchange presently occurring between Axle and Victor, trying to catch my breath. Even if I hadn't kept the connection open as long as I'd had with Somin the previous night, I was feeling woozy.

A sudden dizzy spell hit me, hard. I was faintly aware of my vision fading out for a moment, returning in the next from a different perspective.

It appeared I'd fallen, and pretty hard, at that. Clearing the stars in my vision with a rapid head shake, I tried recollecting my bearings.

Victor seemed ready to offer me some help as he walked past, but stopped when I weakly shook my head. All I needed was a minute or two of rest. I let my thoughts occupy me during the next few moments.

I… I actually did it. I was able to put up a front of confidence long enough to get Somin some help, and for that… I was content.

Of course, as with everything in my life up until that point, something went wrong.

"Ah, shit…"

At the utterance, I discovered the strength to get my legs back under me. I made sure to adopt a wide stance, as to not lose balance again.

The voice, Axle's, had come from the entrance of the cave. From where the team slept, considering how the cave bent, the Swampert was unseen.

Vita seemed to acknowledge Axle's concern with the lifting of her head, but got back to work after she saw me heading his direction.

More than once in the short walk over, I almost fell; my world had never stopped spinning. With one final push, however, I turned the corner and saw our predicament from Axle's perspective.

 _No! Goddamn it!_

A world of white was what my vision met. A Winter Wonderland, so to speak. I spotted not one patch of grey rock or green grass beneath an unusually-thick layer of snow.

"No!" Axle exclaimed, "It's too early for snow! We should've had another month, at least!"

Narrowing my eyes, I sighed through my nose and proceeded to take a step into the harsh, outdoor climate. I would have to feign confidence a little bit longer.

I was the team leader once more. Nothing was going to stop me from my goal.

Yet, I didn't let my hopes get too high, either. Chances were most, if not all the berries in the grove were destroyed by frost.

I needed to know, though, for myself. If it were true, I would die, simple as that. What else was there for me to eat this far from civilization?

As soon as my paw came into contact with the snow, though, I regretted ever leaving the cave.

It was impossible to explain how much I loved snow as a human. Everything about it: pure entertainment for hours, the beauty it brought any landscape, or the struggle to get warm, they were incredible to me.

I'd never been forced to walk in it bare-footed before, without any jacket, or any clothes, for that matter, at all.

A small whine forced its way from my throat; I was successful in suppressing it just as quickly, though. No matter how much the cold stung, I had to keep going.

Making sure Axle was following, I half-walked, half-slid down the hillside towards the river, unable to find the walking path.

I ended up slipping altogether, and tumbled down the hill, directly into the…

 _Oh, thank Arceus…_

I was sure I would have to deal once more with being drowned in the river, now considerably colder. I may as well have had a guardian angel, however, considering I now lay, on the water's surface, already halfway across.

"You okay?"

I looked up towards Axle, at the riverbank, hesitant to step forward. He experimented, placing a paw on the surface of the ice and applying some weight. It groaned under his pressure.

 _Damn it…_

" _Don't!_ " I broadcasted to him as quickly as possible, fatigue cutting down into me like an axe.

"We need those berries, Ray! What do you suggest I do, then?"

I highly doubted the Swampert could bridge the gap; he was just too heavy. The same went for Victor. And, if Vita was treating Somin…

" _I'll find Jet,_ " I shot back concisely.

"And if there's a feral?! Ray, as much as I hate to say it, you can't protect yourself!"

I grunted as I rose, paws slipping this way and that on the smooth, icy surface.

I sighed, making a decision.

Turning my back to him, I walked slowly across the remaining distance of the river.

"Ray! Come on! Please!"

I ignored him, continuing on in my endeavor. Within a few seconds, I'd made it to the other side.

What the hell was I doing? I knew, deep down, that I needed my team for protection. What were I to do if I ran into a feral? I would be obliterated, and probably would make a very feeble snack for a larger creature.

I knew I had an edge, though. I still hadn't forgotten. Even if I ran into a feral in this weather, which was unlikely…

I still had a certain legendary watching over me, or so she promised. If I was _so_ important to her cause, she would save me if need be.

I ignored Axle's pleas as I stepped past the riverbank and into the grove.

I was instantly searching for Oran, Sitrus, or anything else that could help. Long, harsh stares around me revealed no bushes in sight not covered in snow.

I sighed through my nose. Maybe, if I got lucky, I would find a bush covered by a tree. Hopefully, the cold wouldn't have gotten to the exposed Berries.

It was worth a shot to continue searching. The grove was huge, there had to be something.

Within the first few minutes of my search, the entirety of my legs were numb. Even if I knew it to be detrimental, I was glad I was no longer forced to feel a sting in every step I took.

The snow was high, as I'd imagined, but considerably abnormal. I didn't remember a storm we'd had that dropped a worse load. This storm had just taken place overnight, and was gone by morning!

I found myself having to take a meandering path through the trees, afraid of being caught in sudden snow-drifts. On more occasions than one, an entire leg was buried deep in an innocent-looking layer of white.

At one point, I found myself, after gaining confidence that the worst of the accumulation was behind me, stopped taking tentative steps forward. Instead, worried about freezing to death before I could get some Berries, I charged onward at a faster pace.

Until, of course, both of my forelegs were under the surface of the snow, causing a very abrupt and very painful faceplant.

Everything came crashing down right then. I felt, in that instant, the frustration about my inability to do _anything_ I enjoyed taking part in before, including even my ability to speak.

Who was I to blame? Mew, for her inability to protect me? Somin, for his lackadaisical nature even now? Vita, for being overprotective?

I screamed, or managed as best as I could, as I ripped my head out of the snow. Even when my mouth's restrictions didn't yield, I let it all out behind closed lips.

Obscenities, insults, anything that came to mind was said, however muffled. In my rage, I was thankfully able to wrench my paws free of the snowdrift.

Now, though, only fueling my fit, was the fact I was going to freeze to death, with no way to avoid what was coming for me.

I felt tears start to well up, but stopped them just as soon. I would allow myself to be angry, but would completely give up all pretense of confidence before I let myself show as even more pitiable.

I sniffled, shaking my head back and forth to rid it of clumps of snow.

 _Maybe I should just go back to the cave. I'm freezing, and Vita's gonna kill me, if the cold doesn't. I'd rather go back on my own than be rescued._

Right then, a sensation I was unfamiliar with took residence in my mind. For unknown reasons, I acquired the sudden urge to turn my head…

Berries… I found them. Thoughts of the odd sensation disappeared as I stumbled towards the untouched bush.

Yes! They were still edible! All the frustration I'd been feeling was shoved back into my subconscious.

Yet, as I came to a rest by the fruit, however, I stopped and pondered an important question…

How was I supposed to carry any of these back to the cave? My teeth were much too small to hold anything in my mouth, and it wasn't as if I could grab them using my hands, or lack thereof.

Maybe, though, I could use the swath of fur around my own neck like Somin had used his. Was the fur long enough to keep something solid within its grasp?

I tried lifting a paw to a single Oran, hoping to cause it to fall directly on my n—

"INTRUDER! HYAAAAAH!"

I yelped through closed lips as a small, blunt force careened into my side. I was able to discern, whatever it was, that it was only a tad bit larger than myself. From the direction it hit… Was it hiding in the bush, waiting to ambush me?

Yet, unlike the previous day with the Basculin, no instant fatigue was felt, replaced only by a blunt pain.

Whatever it was, it knocked me on my side. I slid for a small distance. Fearing further attack, I was quick to get back up.

Thoughts passing through my head at the time included self-reprimanding for going off, alone, foremost. I had no chances of winning any conflict I got into, considering I hardly knew how to walk, let alone fight.

The same creature knocked me down once more, before I could get a good look at it.

"Stay down!" it said in an obnoxious tone. "Do you know who I am?"

"Ow," I tried replying before getting up once more. The voice, if hard to discern, was female. Arrogance bounced energetically in every word she spoke.

I did get a good look at my assailant this time, but was somewhat shocked as to what I found.

An Axew, and a _tiny_ one at that, was standing proudly before me. Tiny, as in only just over half the size of what one would expect to see from a regular Axew. She only stood almost one and a half times as tall as my _kit_ body. Judging by her tone and pitch, however, she seemed almost fully grown.

The next thing I knew, though, she was upon me once more, prompting a hasty jump to the side.

She… She wasn't feral. She wouldn't be able to talk if she was. Why was she attacking me over territorial disputes, then?

She simply changed the route of her charge, grazing me in my dodge. I spun around with the blow before crashing back to the ground.

I was unable to get up before the Axew stood over me, holding me down to the ground with a foot.

"Haha!" her voice resounded.

This was getting annoying remarkably fast. I took note of the way she held her foot on my chest, placing a considerable amount of weight on it. From the way I was laying down, I could…

I smirked with the plan I'd conceived. I'd wipe that stupid smile off her face. I doubted she was any semblance of a real threat, I'd might as well have a little fun.

"Well? What's it gonna be? Gonna fight ba—"

With a grunt, I rolled to my other side, bringing her foot with me. With the lack of balance, I internally cheered as she fell backwards with an abrupt shout.

I got up just as she recovered, and in a split-second reaction, jumped on her in attack as she rose.

What came next was pitiful as a fight, at best. We rolled on the ground for a short way, commencing in a miserable show of slapping and weakly punching one another.

I managed as best I could, but it didn't help the fact all my 'punches' had almost as little force as tapping my paw against her chest repeatedly.

I could only imagine how we looked from an outside perspective. It didn't seem as if she cared, focusing intently on fighting back.

Multiple times, one of us would try and stand, only to have the other knock us back down. She, often times, used her tail to knock my own legs out from under me.

At one point, I was on my back, unable to correct myself before she actually _leaped_ on top of me. She was fairly heavy, so it came as a surprise when I was able to shove her off with a hard extension of my limbs.

I tried to think of how Somin used to fight as a Zorua, but all that came to mind were complicated maneuvers and dodges, none of which I could hope to perform.

One, simple question came to mind while in the fray, however. Why was the Axew opting not to use moves? Surely, a Pokémon her age would know how. Maybe she was trying to save energy?

"Okay okay okay, time out, truce," she grunted after we'd hit a stalemate. We were both exhausted, it seemed, but I, as opposed to her, was gulping for air.

"You don't know how to fight at all, do you?" she said after brushing herself off, staying exactly where she was. She narrowed her eyes and tilted her head towards me skeptically.

I was thankful for the respite, even if annoyed with the instant interrogation. I entertained the thought of bolting then and there, but was doubtful I could keep up a pace faster than her's.

So, much to my annoyance, I would have to answer her questions. I shook my head no.

"Hmmph…" she chuckled. "You have any parents around here?"

I instinctively shook my head no before realizing my mistake. Maybe it would've been best to pretend the team acted as guardians, for now…

"Really? You? I don't have any up here either, but at least I'm strong enough to be on my own," she boasted.

The blatant pompousness of her demeanor made me roll my eyes. Though, it brought up an important question. What in the world was an Axew, and a fairly young one at that, highly susceptible to the cold, doing on Twist Mountain, alone?

"Well, uh… Do you talk?"

I sighed. It would be easier to explain, meaning I could leave quicker, if I fabricated the answer to this question. I shook my head.

"Wow! How've you survived up here? You can't do anything!"

 _Thanks for rubbing it in._

"That's okay! I'm strong enough to protect both of us! I'm gonna be a big, strong Haxorus one day!

 _Yeah… No thanks…_

"We can't do anything right now, though. There's a monster nearby, and you've already proven you can't fight."

I gave her a stupid look, as if to question whether or not she was serious. She didn't seem to notice.

 _It's not like you're much better at fighting…_

I didn't believe I had the mental fortitude, or the energy to back it, to conjure an illusion to excuse myself, so I got up and started walking away without sound.

"Wait! You'll get killed!"

I simply huffed as I ignored her calling. If she was so dead-set on protecting her Berries, I would continue searching elsewhere.

"Oh come on!" the Axew's rapidly approaching voice sounded. "I'm sorry for attacking you, but I thought you were a bad guy! How was I supposed to tell the difference?"

 _Why doesn't she just leave me alone?_

"Oh! I get it! You're gonna go find the monster! I'll come with you! Then we can both kick its butt!"

I stopped dead turning to shoot the Axew one of the stupidest expressions I'd ever worn. Was she really this dense? I supposed I used to be the exact same way, but at least knew when to stop.

 _Maybe if I ignore her, she'll just leave._

I started plowing ahead at a quicker pace, less careful for thick areas of snow. I was unaware whether or not she was following me.

Great… That fight had gotten me all turned around. I believed I faintly recognized one of the trees up ahead, appearing to have a very odd twist in its trunk. I started walking in its direction, hoping I was traveling the right way.

"Let's have a rematch some time," she said aimlessly as I trudged along, affirming the fact she'd never left. "But once you can actually fight. It wouldn't be fair if you didn't."

 _Can you please just shut up?_

A single paw got stuck in the snow. I was quick to wrench it out and continue on. I took a few more steps forward. Yes! I saw my own, tiny footprints in the deep blanket of snow. All I had to do was follow my own tracks back the the cave.

"Though, I don't think it'd be fair at all if you're so much younger than me. How old are you, a week? Two?"

 _Why are you still following me?_

I stepped out of a row of trees, looking both ways down a makeshift path. Timber, trunks white with frost, bordered the walkway on either side. I took a second, shaking out a single paw, hoping to rekindle some semblance of warmth within it. I wasn't quite sure how much more of this numbing coldness I could take.

"It's kinda weird to see anything besides ferals up here. Did you get lost?"

I turned incredulously towards the sound of the Axew's voice, stepping into the clearing alongside me. Why was she so intent on following me? Huffing, I took off down the strait, stumbling every so often. My gait was more of a trot than anything else, still unsure about the prospect of running or jogging. Praying to Arceus she had stayed behind, I stopped, feeling the burn of exertion on my unconditioned muscles.

"Jeez, it's freezing out here… I can handle it, though, 'cause I'm on special training. My dad said—"

"Shut up! Just shut up!"

I gasped ecstatically when I realized I could move my mouth again. I'd been getting so frustrated with her constant nagging that I would've been content saying it through closed lips. I turned angrily in her direction, a glare marking my face.

The Axew didn't skip a beat as she continued, accusingly.

"Hey! So you _can_ talk! Why didn't you before?"

"Oh Arceus' hooves _please_ leave me alone. I'm just trying to find some berries for my friend and get back to my cave. Simple as that."

"Well there's no need to be snarky about it," she responded, narrowing her eyes. "You don't want me to beat you up again, do you?"

"Sorry," I said sarcastically. "Did you hear me wrong? Leave. Me. Alone. I don't need protection, I'm not going after a monster, and you did _not_ beat me up."

A pause. The air was dead silent for the first time in minutes.

"Yes I did."

"Augggh!" I screamed, turning to leave. "Go back and protect your all-important Berry bush, or whatever you were doing. I'm leaving."

I turned and walked away, in the direction I hoped the cave lied.

Yet, I froze when I heard chuckles sound behind me. The anger that came with the sound trickled slowly up my spine, promoting a shiver.

"You're funny," the Axew said sneeringly after she'd calmed down. "I never thought I'd see a _kit_ with such a temper. It's pretty hilarious to see you get angry."

Before I first spoke, I believed, even if I didn't acknowledge the fact, she wasn't trying to be offensive with her spontaneous and touchy questions. Yet, the pure taunt she'd just sent in my direction, coupled with that vile, satisfied smirk, I was sent over the edge. A snarl creeping its way on my mouth, I turned back to her slowly.

"Who asked you what you thought?!" I shouted, starting to approach her against my better judgement. "You wanna fight? Fine! Hell, I hardly know you, I met you, what, five minutes ago? I didn't think it was possible to hate someone that much in such a short period of time. But, here I am, with the most insufferable, egocentric, annoying attention whore I've ever met!"

She tilted her head to the side, as if clueless. "What's a whore?"

With an enraged yell, and giving no mind to any potential consequences, I charged forward, yelling. Much to my immediate joy, I rammed her dead in the chest with my head.

Only to have that joy instantly shatter as a splitting headache tore my head wide open. I fell to the ground in a daze. Why did her hide have to be so tough?

"Is that it?" she heckled. "Even for a kit, I thought you'd do better than that."

I growled as deeply as I could, causing the Axew to snort in laughter. Apparently, I didn't sound very intimidating.

My head was still spinning, vision blurry and clouded, but I thought I could make out a green leg directly in front of my mouth.

Rage clouded my judgement, I made the quick decision to fight dirty. I proceeded to lunge forward from my position on the ground and chomp down around the limb. It took me a few seconds of dead silence to remember how minuscule my teeth actually were, and their even more diminutive chances at piercing something something that tough.

"Ppfff," she squeaked, struggling to hold in full-blown laughter. "You're not serious, right? You're kidding."

She jerked her foot, causing my jaws to yank off painfully.

"I'm not a bully," she said condescendingly, "but I'm not a wimp, either. Keep that in mind, shortstack."

 _Shortstack…_

Despite the stars floating across my vision, I subtly positioned my legs under me and pushed, propelling myself into her unready body.

With a small yelp, she stumbled, granting me great gratification when she fell over altogether.

Cue another pitiful fight, looking, once more like the flailing of limbs than anything.

"What's your problem?" I grunted in between dodging her counterassault.

"What's my problem?" she responded, pushing me away from my following charge. I was back, trying my best to land a hit, in an instant. "You're the one who keeps attacking me!"

"You're an asshole!"

"You're a sore loser!"

"I didn't lose!"

"Yes you did!"

I screamed in frustration, jumping on top of her in a tackle. Her and I tumbled together for a few feet before she kicked me off. She stood as I struggled to get back up.

For the first time since meeting her, I actually felt fear as I saw what she was preparing.

Her right hand was glowing an ethereal white. I knew instantly that this, unlike her other 'attacks', was to be legitimate move. My mind flashed back to what Somin had said the previous day. What he'd said about my endurance.

" _Your stores start out extremely small, but end up growing and strengthening with time and training. As you were right now, I doubt you'd be able to take an attack without being knocked out."_

The Basculin's attack yesterday had proven his suspicion. What would happen if she were to knock me unconscious here? Panicked, I grunted, rolling as far away from the Axew as possible.

I barely got on my feet as she lunged forwards, hand-first. I strafed wildly, hoping to sidestep her onslaught. However, it proved ineffective. Her attack hit me nearly dead-on. My dodge, more than anything, was a blind attempt to get out of the way. I fell to the ground, groaning.

I felt the fatigue I'd associated with loss of energy before I even felt the physical lashing of her attack. Yet, much to my surprise, it wasn't as strong as I'd thought it'd be. Still, I found it to be multiple times harder, after I succeeded, in trying to stand.

I hissed as I felt a burning feeling rise from where she'd made contact with my shoulder. A short look in that direction revealed my fur to be parted and my skin pierced. Thankfully, the wound didn't seem to be deep, considering no blood was shed as a result. I found, however, I was unable to stand on the limb.

She jumped back, leaving me to stand, legs quivering in fatigue. The wide smirk she bore in between heavy, ladened breaths prompted a thought to cross my mind. Of course, everything I thought was inference, but it made sense.

I beckoned my energy, or whatever was left of it, to flood my mind. Quickly giving it shape, I slung it in her direction.

Yet, instead of words, and working off of my hypothesis alone, I tried pushing the thought of the pain I felt through our connection.

It appeared evident, however, my body did not appreciate my wastefulness of my power, considering, the next thing I knew, I was slumped, face-first, in the snow.

She hadn't reacted to my illusion in any way, disproving my hypothesis. The pure disappointment following the realization I'd completely wasted energy for no reason erased any desire to stay conscious.

* * *

"Ah, crap."

The Axew stared, panting, at the unconscious Zorua before her. She hadn't meant to knock him unconscious, but her annoyance at the kit's unkind remarks had clouded her restriction of power into the Scratch.

She almost felt bad for the young Pokémon, but didn't regret her not holding back. If the pompous little creature was to attack her, she'd simply defend herself.

But, something at the pit of her stomach made her turn back towards the unconscious figure. Some odd feeling, causing her to look pitifully in his direction. Did she feel… Guilty?

No, of course not. Her actions were completely called for. But, it was a child, she considered. Not only was he not properly able to defend himself, but if she was to leave him here, he would surely die.

 _Maybe he deserves it…_

Making up her mind, she suppressed the guilt she felt before it could manifest itself even further, and turned to leave. She would freeze to death herself if she were to help the Zorua. Big, strong dragons like her weren't made for the cold. Yet, that was part of the reason she was up there in the first place.

She hadn't made it ten feet away before she heard footsteps. Something big was approaching, and judging by the fact she'd even heard it, the creature was close.

Panicked, she turned back in its direction, and blanched at what she saw.

"Monster," she whimpered, preparing to run. She'd hoped the creature would have left her domain by then, but it appeared not so. She promised herself, after seeing it devour that feral Deerling not two days prior, that she'd defeat the beast when she next saw it.

But simply looking upon how unnaturally _big_ it seemed caused her to freeze.

The monster didn't seem to notice them, but was lumbering in their direction. Its coat of white fur caused it to blend in quite well with its surroundings.

This was her chance! It was right here, she could attack it without anything blocking her! Yet, for whatever reason, some primal desire directed her away. She knew, deep down, no matter how hard she denied it, that she would be almost instantly killed if she agitated the beast.

It was getting closer now. She turned to run. Maybe she could make it back to her hole before it found her.

She started running, back in the direction the Zorua and her had come originally.

Wait… The Zorua…

She froze again. Why was she hesitant to leave now? She was perfectly willing to leave the Zorua to die. What changed? Was it the fact that there was a difference, at least in her mind, between simply leaving one to die and actually sentencing them to death?

Or were they the exact same thing?

No, they weren't. She promised herself, when this whole ordeal started, that when her father came back for her, she'd be a hero, something he could be proud of. Being a hero meant protecting those who couldn't protect themselves.

"Oh, damn it."

She sprinted back into the clearing. The beast loomed dangerously close now, and had seemed to notice the kit. Still, it lumbered forward at the same pace.

Panicked, the Axew dashed forwards and wrapped her arms under the Zorua's front limbs. In the process, she spotted the part of his shoulder in which she'd cut with her Scratch. The idiot was lucky he'd partially dodged it.

The monster noticed her too, now, and a look in its direction, much to her chagrin, revealed it was approaching them, quicker now.

With a yell, she backpedaled, dragging the Zorua behind her. Thankfully, there was a bush off to the side, in the direction of where she'd first met the Zorua.

The snow proved vital in hindering her progress. She realized, with much fear, she wouldn't be able to hide herself and the Zorua in time.

Another, panicked look at the monster revealed it would be upon them in only a few steps… It was too late. Could she still save herself? The monster outstretched a claw in their direction, with every intention of skinning them alive.

Time slowed to a crawl in the few seconds that followed. With the threat of imminent death, she felt nauseous, as if she would vomit at any time. Crippling fear overtook her completely.

She'd failed the task her father had given her… She really was worthless.

Yet, against all odds, something akin to a miracle took place.

Pink flooded her vision as a large crash was heard. Her mouth went slack as, with a grunt, the monster reeled back from the impact. Was that a forcefield? Where did it come from? How was it so powerful?

The monster was given no time to react as a spire of pink energy amassed itself from the center of the barrier. It, without delay, rushed forward and pierced the monster directly in the skull before it could recover.

No… The Axew could watch no longer. She turned her head and retched, no longer able to hold in her nausea completely. The fact she couldn't escape the sound of the wet ' _SHHHLK'_ , originating from the attack's retraction from the creature's brain didn't go to help.

As soon as it started, it was over. The monster's body fell to the ground with a thud.

Was it thirty seconds that passed? A minute? She wasn't quite sure, but after some time, she felt as if she'd vomited everything she'd had in stock. Reluctantly, she turned towards the creature's body.

It was just as she'd imagined. It lay face-down in the snow, a gaping hope showing in the back of its head. The snow, in a wide radius around the creature, was tainted red.

She took note of the shakiness in her breathing. She choked a few times, trying to hold the fearful tears from coming.

 _What kind of thing is able to do something like that?! To take down a monster so easily!_

 _FWOOSH_

She screamed as a second monster, this one much smaller, swooped in from the sky, landing directly in front of her. This one was a flying type, she discerned, on account of the brief view she obtained of feathers and wings. She doubted her secret savior, or whatever else had conjured that barrier, would return to save her this time.

She shut her eyes tight and looked away, savoring the last, beautiful moments of life.

"Hmm… Beartic… Vita's gonna be pissed."

Relaxing ever so slightly, she squinted her eyes as she stared up at the new monster.

It looked calm, if not slightly annoyed. Its gaze wasn't even focused on her, instead, on the Zorua she was trying to save.

"Y-you can talk?" she squeaked. "You… You're not feral?"

It seemed that the larger creature noticed her for the first time.

"No, I'm not feral," he said in a nonchalant tone, distinctly male. "And I'm guessing you didn't do this?"

He gestured with a wing towards the fallen monster.

"N-no," she admitted, shrinking away. "A pink… thing… did it. I don't know what it was, I swear!"

The bird sighed, turning back towards the Zorua.

"A-are you here to hurt us?" the Axew asked tentatively.

"Me? Nah," the bird responded, softly chortling. He gave a look around, as if he were gauging his position or checking for more danger.

"This Beartic didn't hurt either of you, did it?" he then asked, turning back towards the Axew.

"N-no. Is that what it's called?"

The bird looked at the Axew skeptically, as if judging her. Was she supposed to know what the dead monster was named?

"Name's Jet," he said simply, ignoring her question and wiping his face of all emotion. "And this," he continued, gesturing towards the Zorua, "is Ray. Your's?"

"My n-name? M-m-miseri," she trailed off, clearing her throat before finishing.

"Miseri-what?"

"N-no! I'm Misa. Misa."

"Well, Misa," Jet responded, nodding his head in a half-greeting. "Do me a huge favor and go back to your parents. Never tell anyone about what you saw here, or about the fact you even met this Zorua at all. I may be nice now, but…"

He flexed his talons, causing them to shine in the sunlight. Misa shuddered.

"You get the idea."

He then, without word, grabbed the Zorua with both talons and flew off in a single direction before Misa could respond. Within seconds, she was alone, left with the still-bleeding corpse of the monster.

* * *

 **OLD A/N FOR THIS CHAPTER:**

 **And, on a more jovial tone, this story (somehow) got a piece of fanart! I have no idea how or why, but it's amazing through and through, so go show the artist some love! (There's a link on my profile).**


	9. Unraveled

**l**

 **Chapter VIII - Unraveled**

* * *

I can certainly say I didn't expect to wake up, in the talons of a Braviary, hundreds of feet above the ground.

The air whipped my fur to and fro as if I were nothing more than a flag. I froze, as to not accidentally wiggle out of Jet's grasp.

"Hey," I heard his voice, raised considerably, over the gale surrounding us. "You're up… I didn't think you'd be awake that fast."

"Wh-what happened?" I yelled back, attempting with all my being not to look down.

"I dunno," he replied indifferently. "I was just flying on by, on my way back to the cave, when I thought I recognized you. We haven't been in the air any more than a minute."

"Was there an Axew next to me?" I responded quickly, ignoring everything else. "We need to go back, she's the asshole that knocked me out…"

"Really? Her?" Jet chortled. "I thought you were stupid enough to fight that feral Beartic Mew killed."

"Wait, what? What Beartic?"

"It's nothing," he finished, starting to descend. "Not a really big deal."

"Sorta sounds like a big deal! Mew was there? You saw her?"

By the time I'd finished, Jet had nearly reached the ground. He remained silent until he was able to deposit me in the snow.

"Uhh… No…" he finally said. "But the Axew saw her, or something like that."

"Right…" I said sarcastically before taking a look around. I didn't recognize the snow-covered landscape around us.

"I'll tell you more about it later," he concluded.

"What are we doing here?"

"I figured out what you were trying to do. I went back to the cave a little bit ago and saw Vita freaking out. When I ask her what she was having a heart attack over, she says you went off, like an idiot, and were looking for Berries. I told her I'd bring you back…"

"Great… She's gonna strangle me when I get back."

"Doubt it… Look over there."

I followed his gesture until I discovered an uplifting sight. A lush, green bust lay us, dotted with rare, yellow Berries. What were the odds we'd find a perfectly-salvaged Sitrus bush?

"Found these last night," the Braviary continued. "Stupid Karrablast I was hunting led me straight to them. Made sure to have 'em covered until the snow stopped."

He stepped past me, plucked a single fruit off with a foot, and hobbled back towards me, trying not to ruin his treasure.

"Just take a few of these," he said, dropping the single berry in the longer, black fur around my neck. Thankfully, it stayed in place. "back to the cave. I'll act like I never saw you, and go back a few minutes after. Sound fair?"

"Uhh… Jet?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are you being so… Relaxed about this?"

"Whaddaya mean?"

"You're making it look like I actually did something right… Why?"

"Maybe it's a change of heart," he replied sarcastically, giving me a wry smile, before further explaining. "Two reasons. One, I don't wanna have to deal with Vita and her constant nagging you. It's like listening to a Chatot, over and over again."

His simile prompted me to snicker. At least I wasn't the only one.

"Second is the fact I know Somin needs these, and I _really_ don't want to be the one to give them to him."

"Why? Wouldn't you want to take the credit for this?"

"Eh, maybe when he stops being an asshole all the time. I'll probably forgive him if he apologizes. Wasn't my fault he was being a prick. I just called him out on it."

By then, he had filled my fur-scarf to the point it was nearly overflowing. I put on a stupid, judgemental look, and stared at the Braviary.

"Now, get the hell outta here. Cave's that way," he said, gesturing to our right. "I'm going to circle around the forest and head back. You'd better be there by then."

With that, and before I could respond, he took off, disappearing behind a cover of trees within a few seconds.

Clicking my tongue in slight exasperation, and with no other business where I was, I set off in the direction Jet had pointed out.

My shoulder stung as a result of the Axew's attack, of course, but not as badly as I'd first felt it. I found I possessed a slight limp, but it eventually wore off. I hoped no one would end up noticing.

It seemed I'd developed an affinity for figuring out where certain, deeper sections of snow lay. I was proud to say I didn't get stuck, not even once.

To take my mind off of the cold, I took a glance at the scenery surrounding me.

I found it funny. I knew just about every inch of the small forest, boasting a total area of maybe a mile or two. Yet, with the cover of white, leaving no spot untouched, I found myself in new territory.

Of course, I recognized a landmark every so often. One was a tree, remarkably taller than any other around it. As a result, it was often the target for lightning strikes, stripping it of leaves. While stark and bare in the summer, it seemed surprisingly beautiful in the wintertime.

I had the strangest feeling it would start to snow again soon. If the thick, grey cloud cover was any indication, we weren't truly safe yet.

I laughed openly as I passed an extremely tall pile of snow. Judging by its location, I guessed it was _the_ boulder. We'd tried for days to move this behemoth, hoping to use it as a stepping stone for the river. Despite its proximity to the river, promising a simple move, we never were able to make it budge.

Somin and Vita had just evolved, and even then, it still proved impossible. I thought about the possibility of moving it now, confident in our projected success.

I tried shaking off the one, looming thought manifesting itself in my head. All these happy memories… They'd been spent as a human. Could I hope to try and relive, or even remember them, without being reminded of the depressing fact I was now useless, in all aspects of life? Even in Berry Gathering, I'd needed Jet to bail me out.

Before I could give myself an answer, I'd made it to the riverbank. I simply walked across the surface of the ice, and continued upstream, along the hillside.

I let the promise of warmth, whether that be from a fire, Somin's mane, or Arceus forbid, _Vita_ drive me the final distance.

Eventually, I'd made it to the correct portion of the hill, and, very arduously, struggled up the steep incline.

I breathed heavily, unsure of what to expect in terms of reaction. I was unsure myself, whether or not lying about how I came across the Berries was the right course of action.

I thought about it no more as Victor, apparently hearing my entrance, rounded the corner.

His eyes widened for a moment in surprise at seeming me. He shoved his emotion back down, however when he turned his head towards a second, approaching figure.

"Oh… Heeeeey Vita," I said, suddenly extremely uncomfortable. Was it too late to run? I shifted my paws restlessly.

She remained silent, and much to my own, increasing trepidation, plastered on one of her famous glares.

Her eyes pierced my skin without effort and held me in place. At this point, I doubted I would be able to escape, even if I wanted to.

"Enlighten me," she said ominously, approaching slowly. "What made you think that was a good idea?"

When I remained silent, she continued. "No, please… Tell me. If you wanted to commit suicide, there's a lot quicker ways of going about it."

I wanted to show her what I had in my possession, but could only shrink away as she continued forward.

"I-I… I wanted to help," I choked out.

"And what did that get you, Ray? You could've frozen to death! That is, if something hadn't gotten to you first… Then we would have to deal with both you and Somin being debilitated."

"Vita, I'm fine."

"Ray, you're being selfish! Do you think about how what you do affects all of us?!"

"Vita!" I yelled, finding the confidence to do so as her glare started to diminish. "Drop it now! I can do whatever I damn well please because _I'm_ the trainer here. Not you, not Somin, but me!"

Aggravated, I shook my neck out, allowing the five Sitrus Berries I'd been holding fall to the ground.

"I can handle myself," I continued in the wake of her silence. Huffing, I left the berries where they were and proceeded to walk towards and past Vita and Victor.

"Hey," Axle greeted sheepishly, obviously having heard the argument. He was sitting a few feet away from Somin, the latter of which had his back propped up against the wall.

I sighed to calm my nerves, and went to lay down beside them. Victor followed my lead, having followed me back into the cave.

"I thought she would be a lot more mad," the Durant spoke, hoping to lighten the mood. "She was worried, you know?"

"I can take care of myself," I responded simply, opting to leave it at that.

Vita slithered in a few seconds later, crossing the cave to access my bag without word. She held all five Sitrus Berries in a few of her vines. She made a concerted effort to not give any of us even a sideways glance.

"Don't we need to give those to Somin?" I asked spitefully as she placed every Berry in her possession inside the bag.

She allowed a small, deadly glare to be sent my way. "For being the almighty 'trainer', I'm surprised you forgot we have _Potions._ "

She waved an empty Potion bottle at me, prompting me to mentally slap myself.

She chuckled sarcastically. "To think you were ready to commit suicide and gain nothing from it. Smart, Ray… Smart…"

I glanced up towards Somin, seemingly regaining his energy. The weak look of concern touching his face revealed that much… Why wasn't he fully healed by now, though? Whenever I'd exhausted myself, I was up and moving fairly soon afterwards.

Maybe it was because he was larger? His stores were probably exponentially more voluminous than mine, so more time would theoretically have to pass before they were fully filled. Yet, with energy as abundant as Somin's, it was hard to imagine how he'd fallen so quickly.

Somin seemed to notice the thoughtful expression on my face, considering the small smirk he adopted. His voice appeared in my head a second or two later.

" _There's more than one type of illusion,"_ he stated, sounding quiet through our connection. " _Three, actually._ "

"Wait, why are you—"

" _Shhhh… If you wanna say something, use illusions. Secrecy, remember?_ "

I'd attracted the attention of Axle and Victor with my outburst, but, after a few moments of deliberation, shook my head in dismissal.

" _Of course, you're only gonna ever use one type… Connected Illusions. I can hardly manage the second as-is, and the third…_ "

" _Are you sure you're okay to talk to me? Shouldn't you… Rest?"_ I shot back, hoping to use as little energy as possible. Thankfully, formation and conjuring didn't take long; I only now had to rest my head on my paws from the exertion.

" _Eh, the amount of power I'm putting behind talking to you is tiny. I'm surprised you can hear me, to be honest. Why not teach you something while I can't do anything?_ "

I stared at him out of the corner of my eye suspiciously.

" _Like I said,_ " he continued without respite. " _You're only ever gonna use Connected Illusions. You'll kill yourself before successfully conjuring anything else. Thankfully, connections are what you'll use for ninety-nine percent of all usage._ "

He paused before continuing. " _Of course, it has its downsides. Only targets you've made a connection with will perceive your illusions. I'll teach you about multiple targets later, but for things like technology and physically interacting with your surroundings, it's not gonna cut it._ "

He shifted uncomfortably. " _What I did today was the second category of illusion: Physical. It's made when you actually use your energy to give shape to whatever you want it to be. No connection needed. Physical Illusions… They hardly count as illusions. They're real, tangible things for as long as you can keep it up. Which wasn't very long, in my case._ "

He suddenly cringed, as if in pain. A few seconds passed before he relaxed, exhaling tiredly.

" _This is taking more out of me than I thought… I… Jeez… I'll tell you about the third later. For now… We're gonna practice something._ "

Expectant, I raised my head.

" _Endurance is the most important part of keeping up illusions. Without it, you leave yourself vulnerable._ _So here's just a simple little exercise… Open a connection and keep it open for, let's say… Five seconds. Rest for about a minute, then do it again. I'll tell you when you can up the time._ "

Right then, my attention was shifted towards a sound of movement from the front of the cave. A long look revealed Jet had returned, and was conversing with Vita in hushed tones.

" _Ignore them,_ " Somin warned. " _Give Vita some time to cool down. I think I'm with you on this one, but there's no arguing with her… Especially not now._ "

I snorted at his statement, glad I had the assurance of at least one team member. Who was she to say I was being selfish? If anything, what I did was the exact opposite.

Axle appeared much on-edge, as if he was afraid Vita's sour attitude was soon to lash out and devour him.

Victor stared at me condescendingly. Once he was sure he'd grabbed my attention, he started whispering in a soft tone.

"You know, Ray… Vita may have been just a liiiiiitle right… I don't wanna take sides or tell you what to do or anything, but please, for her, try to be a little more considerate?"

Even with the forced neutrality in his explanation, I found myself shooting a glare in his direction, allowing the dark clouds covering the room to swallow up the last beam of sunshine. He made sure to stay quiet afterwards, adopting a demeanor much akin to Axle's.

" _I'm waiting…_ " Somin reappeared in my head, slouching his position.

Five seconds… That was the time he'd specified. What was my maximum endurance as it was now, then? Fifteen? Twenty?

Suppressing further questions, I shut my eyes, got into a more comfortable position, and started.

The first three rounds were uneventful. A minute-long break was more than enough to catch my breath and rid myself of lightheadedness, forming during each, five-second interval.

By the fourth attempt, however, I was starting to feel woozy, as if the respite I was granted was becoming more and more useless. I was lucky I was laying down. Surely by then, if I'd been standing, I would be no longer.

With every attempt afterward, I struggled progressively more in ushering an appropriate amount of energy to the forefront of my mind. With every use, it became more and more viscous, taking effort to summon it, let alone conjure a connection.

Eight… Nine… Ten intervals. I felt every, grueling second during exertion, yet every minute of respite passed by as though it were nothing.

I eventually got to the point I couldn't move a muscle in my body. Eyes half-lidded, I promised myself the next attempt would be the one I would admit to Somin I could go no further.

Yet, being the stubborn little beast I'd always been, I refused to yield. If this was going to make me stronger, then I was sure as hell going to keep on going.

Thirteen… Fourteen… Fifteen…

The sixteenth rotation was the worst yet. Speaking truthfully, however, every single one had been worse than the last. This one, though, broke new ground.

I actually found the strength to yelp as I felt like my brain was tearing itself apart.

 _Okay… I'm done… I can't do anymore…_

"Ray? What's wrong?" a distorted voice, one I imagined to be Victor's, asked.

"N-nuthin," I slurred.

"I can't leave you alone for fifteen minutes without something happening, can I?"

Over the ringing in my ears, I was able to deduce that sentence's owner as Vita. Somin promptly followed with his own statement.

"Lay off for now. He's learning, and it's gonna take some time for him to get stronger. Save him the over-protective attitude."

"Hmmph," Vita huffed, receding from the conversation.

All I could maintain was my eyes opened at half-mast as Somin's voice reprimanded me in my head.

" _What did I say about overexertion? Don't even try risking it. Quit when you need to, it's not like there's never gonna be room for improvement. Doubt I'll be able to hold her back from treating you like a kit for long, so don't tempt her._ "

"Why do you think she's being like this?" I mumbled, only to the point only those surrounding me could hear. Sadly, that meant Victor, as well.

The Durant seemed to get the notion I was having a conversation with Somin, though, and stayed out.

" _I think I have an idea… I'll talk to her in a little bit, see what's up._ "

I remained silent, and proceeded to struggle to get up before Somin stopped me by laying a claw on my back. He gently pushed me back down.

" _Don't… Take a breather, hell, sleep if you can. Whether you like it or not, your body needs a lot more than normal._ "

At my annoyance, he continued. " _You've been working yourself. Just take a break, man… I'll wake you up if anything important happens._ "

Sighing, and knowing I was going nowhere as long as Somin was beside me, I let my head come to rest in between my paws.

"Can you do me a favor?" I asked quietly. "When you feel up to it, get a fire going, or see if someone else can. It's freezing."

" _I can put you in my fur if you wa—"_

"No. I'm fine…"

" _Suit yourself._ "

I was freezing, of course, and wanted nothing more than to accept his offer. Yet, I wanted to make absolutely sure I put on a show of independence.

If anything, my status as the trainer over the team was slipping. If I didn't want my entire impression to seep through the cracks caused by this catastrophe, I had to make sure I was still strong. That meant pushing myself beyond physical boundaries, and above all, not becoming completely dependent on the team.

I had to… I never knew why, nor cared to figure it out. It's possibly what I believed made me a successful person. We'd only gotten this far as a team because of the maturity and independence as strong individuals we'd all displayed over the years. We were stronger together, of course, but capable on our own. _That_ was what made us one of the best. I wasn't about to let six and a half years of strenuous work, dotted at random with heartbreak, depression, and conflict, be ruined by a legendary and her flimsy plan to make me her trainer… I wouldn't…

But, for now… I would let myself rest.

* * *

" _I won't let you die."_

The words kept ringing in my head long after I woke. I was growing extremely concerned by then for my mental well-being. Were the recurring dreams a product on the mental strain my transformation had brought?

I would probably talk to Somin or Jet about it if I had another. Vita would probably worry herself over it, and as much as I enjoyed talking to Axle and Victor, neither of them could keep a secret long.

A look around the cave revealed I was alone. A fire burned brightly a few feet away, but no creature accompanied me in its warmth.

I got up, feeling much better than before. I noticed a dull pain emanate from my shoulder, where the Axew had attacked me.

I looked down apprehensively in that region, only to reel in shock when I found it was almost fully healed. All that remained was, rather than a thick, stinging cut, was a small, pink slice in the skin, hardly noticeable.

Hell, maybe there _were_ some upsides to this transformation.

I shook my head to rid it of some stray ash that had found refuge in my fur. How long had I been asleep for?

Hearing voices of different pitches from outside the cave, I resigned myself to check.

Life was going on as if it were a normal day. Axle was breaking up the ice and swimming for fish. Somin and Jet sparred in the trees, training a distance aways. It seemed some of the attacks either one shot off were meant to harm, if only a little.

Vita and Victor were nowhere to be found. Picking Berries, maybe? I doubted it, considering Victor wasn't one for holding them very well.

"He lives!" Axle called sarcastically, bringing my attention back to the river. He was submerged in the frigid water, head peeking out to greet me.

"Isn't that cold?" I asked, nothing else to say coming to mind.

"Eh, it's a little uncomfortable, but bearable."

"Right," I responded skeptically. Somin and Jet still hadn't taken notice of our conversation.

"How long was I asleep for?" I asked, turning my attention back to the Swampert. He was in the process of bringing a freshly-caught Magikarp back to a pile he'd made on the surface.

"Six hours," he laughed, succeeded by my blank stare. "I thought you died, was gonna dig a hole for your grave when I was done getting food."

"Why the hell'd you let me sleep that long?" I yelled fervently, pacing back and forth uncomfortably.

"Calm down. It's fine… We had everything covered."

"It's not fine! Six hours?! It was hardly midday! I've slept for more than twenty of the last 24 hours! That's okay to you?"

"Ah jeez," Axle sighed. "Hey Somin! You were right! He's pissed!"

"Why?" Somin's faint voice was heard. He seemed to be talking in between dodges or attacks, opting to continue sparring. "I like naps."

"I don't!" I frustratedly shot back. With no response given, I reluctantly changed pace. "Where are the other two?" I interrogated Axle.

"Dunno… Vita was feeling sick and went off on her own. When she didn't come back, Victor went to check up on her.

"Sick again?" I asked myself before readdressing Axle. "Which way did they go?"

"Yeah," he chuckled. "I don't want to tick her off any more than I have to. She's been getting more and more… Erratic with her behavior. I think that's the word. Either way, you're staying here for now."

I shot a glare in his direction, but by then, he'd already gone back under the surface of the water.

With no other stimulus to interrupt, I let my thoughts wander as they pleased. The first topic they set their sights on was the call with Skyla earlier the same day.

My mother's sister, and yet, polar opposites. I would trade her for my own any day. She was kind enough to let me stay in her second house while I was in town, which wasn't often.

I then thought about the sincerity of her message, the desire to know I was alright. This was a woman who I could trust, wasn't she? Why had I been so reluctant to tell her the truth of my experience with the people pursuing and, ultimately, the people who killed me?

Yet, I had no way of knowing with whom she was working. If any other Gym leaders got wind of my location, it would be game over.

Would we survive up here? There was limited food, at least for myself. As I saw it, the only option was to head to Icirrus. Maybe we could somehow get to Mistralton from there, and work on isolating Skyla from everyone. If everything went according to plan, however, there was a big question nagging at the back of my head.

Would I find the courage to reveal myself? It went without saying we needed to keep my transformation a secret from as many people and Pokémon as possible. The form I took was so demeaning; was I brave enough to show her what had happened? I knew Skyla wasn't a judgemental person, but…

Maybe the team would have an opinion. I would ask them later.

Skyla was family, that much I knew. But one of the main lessons I'd learned throughout my entire journey was to build my trust in those who deserved it, and as cheesy as it sounded, my team was the only family I had.

Before I could dwell on those dark thoughts for long, Jet's voice pierced my mental barrier.

"Don't know why you'd wanna sit out here… Feel like my wings're about to fall off."

I started, staring up at the Braviary. He sported a few cuts from his training, but acted as if they weren't there. How did he approach without my noticing?

Without word, he shrugged, and walked behind me, disappearing inside the cave. Somin followed close behind, and stopped to address me.

"We can practice if you want. Dinner won't be on for another hour or two."

My stomach growled at the mention of the meal. I solemnly realized I hadn't eaten anything the entire day.

"Right…" Somin said, rubbing his face. "We can work on illusions later… You gotta be starving.

With that, he turned to walk away. He then paused, turning back towards me.

"Which way was that bush you found earlier? The Sitrus one?"

"Oh… It's uh… Go downriver a bit, go into the woods, and keep going straight when you find the lightning tree… Fifty yards from there, maybe? It's on the edge of a clearing."

"Right. I'll be back in a bit."

With that, he slid down the slope, leaped over Axle and the creek altogether, and disappeared around the bend. I sighed, stood, and went back inside.

"We alone?" Jet asked as I sat down next to the fire. He stood on the other side, perpendicular so he could warm his left wing.

"Yeah…"

"Right… So about the Beartic and Mew…"

"Oh, I almost forgot about them," I replied sarcastically.

"She's still around, then? Mew, I mean."

"Yeah… Just… Please don't tell anyone. Somin'll get mad when he figures out she's still around, and Vita… She's already upset."

"Already know. Don't worry about it. I actually wanted to talk more about the Axew. Said her name was Misa, or something like that."

"Why? All we need to know is that she's a total bitch."

"And why's that?"

"Talks big, like she's able to do anything, besides being the most annoying little beast I've ever met."

"What, cause you lost?"

"Not you too! I didn't lose!"

"That cut on your shoulder says otherwise."

I huffed, a scowl soon to form on my face. "What's so interesting about her? Why do you care?" I continued, hoping to change the subject.

"You don't think it's weird she's on _Twist Mountain_? A tiny dragon type like her? She's a runt, Ray. She might've been abandoned."

"Doubt it," I replied. "She probably ran off from her parents, too egocentric for her own good."

"Sounds familiar," he heckled openly. "We should start a club, maybe she should be a member."

"Oh, and what club's that?" I responded snobbishly.

"How about the 'My Parents Suck and I Don't Want to Be Around Them Anymore Club'?"

That succeeded in making me laugh openly. I decided, in the spur of the moment, to join in.

"Whatever… So, Misa, huh?"

"Yeah, she seemed pretty flustered, but that's what she told me."

"Think you can teach me how to beat the ever-loving shit out of her?"

The Braviary proceeded to break out in uncontrollable laughter.

"She must've beat you pretty bad if you're this angry about it," he hazed.

"I'm serious!" I pleaded. "Somin's not gonna teach me how to fight for weeks, and I don't think anyone else here knows more about it than you do…"

"I dunno, Ray," he responded, the revelry slowly disappearing from his voice. "You're being serious?"

"Absolutely."

He sighed in mental deliberation.

"Somin's gonna kill me if he finds out."

"I'll make sure he doesn't."

"Ugh… You suck, Ray, you know that?"

He paced around his side of the fire for about thirty seconds. Sighing, he gave his answer.

"You're lucky our species' fighting style is so similar… Fine. We do it at night, when everyone else is asleep. When Somin's done teaching you illusions, or whatever the hell you're doing tonight, I'll make up an excuse to pull you away."

"Yes! You're awesome, Jet!"

He remained silent, stalking slowly back to the fire. We remained in silence from then on.

Axle walked in a few minutes later, asked the whereabouts of Somin, and took post next to me, leaving a pile of dead fish in the corner.

Somin entered next, giving me a much-needed meal. I'd downed almost everything he brought. He assured me my teeth would hopefully grow in soon, sometime within the next two or three weeks. That period of time seemed like an eternity to me.

A full hour passed before Victor and Vita returned, as a pair. The latter, after giving an unsure glance at the former, approached Somin and whispered something in his ear.

I could tell Axle was biting back a greeting. Whatever Vita seemed to be so worried about, and was relaying to Somin, was obviously important.

"WHAT?!" the Zoroark yelled when she finished, staring long and hard at her, then Victor. He seemed overall uncomfortable with the attention.

"Why the reaction?" Axle asked skeptically.

"No! Nonono…" Somin denied, realizing the rest of us were present. He chuckled nervously. "Everything's fine… It's just… Vita, can we talk? Alone, please?"

She nodded her head weakly, following the Zoroark outside.

"Uhh…" Axle gaped as they left, before addressing Victor. "Mind telling us what that was about?"

"What, that? Somin's just worried. Vita got really sick again."

"So why the secrecy?" I followed, prompting the Durant's glance in my direction.

"I dunno… She probably didn't want to have to talk to everyone. She's really tir—"

"A WEEK?"

Everyone's head turned towards the entrance of the cave at Somin's outburst. We gave each other skeptical looks soon after.

"A week since she's started being sick?" Victor asked to no one in particular, and quite nervously at that. What was he hiding, if anything?

It was rare to see Somin this flustered. Maybe there was something really wrong with Vita, if it was cause for this much worry.

"What do you think's wrong?" Axle asked to no one in particular.

"Altitude sickness," Jet suggested simply.

"Oh, that may be it," I responded. "I got sick whenever we would hike up to the summit… There still might be something wrong, though."

"If it's important, I'm sure they'll tell us…" Victor piped in. I sent him a look. He _knew_ something. He was a horrible liar.

The next minute or so passed in an extremely awkward silence. Somin and Vita, wherever they were conversing, seemed to have forgotten about us altogether.

Finally, they returned, stepping in together. The entire cave remained silent as Somin sat, his legs almost completing an 'O' shape. He stared thoughtfully at the ground until I addressed him.

"Mind enlightening us all what that was about?"

Vita had since curled around him and laid her head on his shoulder in a gesture of comfort. She answered in his stead.

"Victor and I met a wild out in the forest, a Vanillish… Said it's been watching the weather for years. It predicted, judging on the amount of snow we have now, it's going to snow three times a week for most of the winter."

No response was immediately given. The claim, out of nowhere, was outlandish, of course, but it would explain Somin's outburst.

"Right!" Victor said nervously. "I didn't know you were talking about that guy… He was kinda mean. I didn't like him much."

"Uhh… Sure," Vita continued, staring oddly at Victor's going off-topic.

"Whatever," I responded, not wishing to dwell on the topic any longer. If they were, in fact, fabricating their story, it must not have been an important piece of information they were hiding. "Can we talk about what we want to do from here?"

"We probably should," Axle agreed. "As I see it, there's two ways to go from here, each with their own risks. First, we go to Icirrus. The journey's gonna suck, and if we don't die on the way there, we have no telling how we'll be received."

"We could call Sklya and ask her to… Help?"

"I don't know… It might be worth a shot. If someone else is with her, though, we can't do jack."

"She could lie," Jet piped in. "Draw us in and catch us from there.

"Would she, though?" Victor responded. "Even in a situation like this, she knows she's the only family Ray has. If she's met with other Gym leaders, I'm sure it was suggested. I doubt she would go through with it, though."

"Okay, we'll let that sit…" Vita said. "And the second option?"

"We stay here," I said simply. "Wait for the heat do die down a little bit before going anywhere. Downside is the fact winter's starting, and we're nowhere near prepared. I hate to bring myself into this, but I can't eat anything. It's all gonna freeze over soon."

I sighed before starting. "Which is why I'm voting to call Skyla. If all else fails, we just go to Icirrus and try to lay low."

"I've never met Skyla outside the video chats she's had with you, Ray," Victor added. "I think she's nice… I'm willing to try her out."

"That's two-nothing," I said when he finished. "Anyone else wanna go next?"

"I personally think we have enough to last you until you can eat actual food," Jet spoke. "The cold sucks; Vita and I know that more than anyone, but I want to tough it out. We can make it."

"Two-one," Vita said in response. "Make that three. I want to head back. At least there, we can almost guarantee survival. The same can't be said about up here."

"Yeah," Axle chimed. "But if we go into town, there's a giant chance all of us will get separated. I'd much rather take a risk and stick together. Three-two."

Everyone's stare slowly moved in Somin's direction. He hadn't moved or spoken once since the conversation started.

"Somin?" Vita asked gently, nuzzling the despondent Zoroark on the head.

"Wh-wha? Oh, vote… Right…"

He lapsed into another period of thought, broken only by a single word.

"Stay…"

Vita seemed slightly surprised at the Zoroark's decision, but accepted it nonetheless. She, suddenly apathetic, left her head to rest once more on his shoulder.

"Tie," Axle said, "How should we break it?"

"No," I responded, "This is too big a decision to break with a flip of a coin, or something stupid like that…"

"What if we made a compromise?" Victor asked in return. "You know, meet halfway?"

"What do you think, then?" I responded subsequently.

"Well…" he started pacing. "What if we wait until just about before the food for you runs out, then we can go back to town. Maybe we could get by undetected then. Let you adjust for a little bit first, in case we do get separated. Maybe learn some stuff in case you need to defend yourself."

"Hmm… Vita?"

The idea had its merit, but I was sure someone would be able to find some sort of downfall to the plan. At least, in my opinion, the thought of waiting to run out of food sounded flimsy, at best.

"I…" she said, not bothering to raise her head. "I believe, at present, it would be the best course of action. Circumstances may change, of course, but I agree that this plan could, theoretically work."

To say I was shocked with her answer was an understatement. Vita was the one Pokémon present I thought would refute the proposal.

Everyone else was quick to give their approval, leaving myself.

"Well, I guess I lose, then," I said, surrendering. "Let's aim for… A week and a half?"

"Yeah, we got more than enough Berries for that long…" Axle replied, "I'm glad we finally made a decision about this."

"Doesn't matter," Jet piped in, "doesn't change the fact Ray's still a Zorua, and it doesn't change the fact Mew's disappeared altogether."

He was lying, of course. We'd both been witnesses to her actions just that day, even if I'd been unconscious. Yet, the legendary might as well have been gone completely. Without any communication from her whatsoever, we were left in the dark.

"It's still good to be ready," Victor said. "We made a decision, so let's move on… anyone else hungry?"

"I'll get dinner on," Axle replied.

I thought I caught Vita's stare resting on me. I intentionally looked away to avoid her gaze. I proposed a question to Axle in an attempt to divert her attention from me.

"You guys have enough?"

"Two fish each, should be enough," he responded, grabbing the stick he'd used the previous night from its spot in the corner. In the process, he also grabbed an extra log as fuel for the fire with his free, right paw.

"Who wants it uncooked?"

"Here," Jet spoke, catching a single Basculin in his beak as it came flying his way.

A small utterance from Somin was taken as confirmation. After catching his meal, he nibbled on it tentatively.

It wasn't depression I saw in the air about him. Instead, he seemed apprehensive and extremely jittery, as if whatever Vita had said made him extremely nervous. Was it fear, in the face of the snowy journey we were to take?

Somin had fed me more than enough, so I resigned myself to scooting a bit closer to the fire and laying my head down. I then waited for the rest of the team to cook and eat as the flickering flame lulled me into a light trance.

* * *

About an hour passed before anyone finished, leaving the scraps leftover from their meals in a small pile.

The few team members who weren't feeling trepidation with the promise of more snow made a game out of seeing from how far they could land a bone in the pile. Surprisingly, Victor ended up winning after making a lucky shot, using his mandibles to sling a rib across the cave.

Before long, Somin, dropping out of his stupor for a moment, instructed me to repeat the exercise I'd performed earlier. He made sure to encourage me, very gruffly, to stop when I needed.

My mind, however, was set on Jet's promise of teaching me how to fight. Throughout the intervals I performed, I found it helpful to focus on my excitement, rather than the exertion I was putting myself through.

I managed ten before telling Somin I was ready to stop. From there, the Zoroark nodded, grabbed an Oran from the pile of Berries beside him, stood, and proceeded to allow me to have a drink.

I knew I would probably never get over the humiliation I felt with this method of feeding. I'd thought about the prospect of eating when we got back to civilization, and placed the pieces together of what I would have to do.

I sure as hell wasn't looking forward to drinking baby Pokémon formula.

Before long, I felt rejuvenated enough to stand, albeit wobbly. Everyone seemed to be settling down for the night, conversing quietly in pairs. The odd Pokémon out, unsurprisingly, was Jet.

I gave him a glance, as if to ask whether or not it was time to begin. After taking a look around for himself, he nodded.

Heart pounding, I stood and took a few steps towards where Vita and Somin sat with one another, in hushed tones. All that was visible of the Zoroark behind a wall of green was his face. He spectated me carefully as I approached.

"I think I'm gonna head out for a walk," I stated sheepishly. "Just to think for a while."

Previously expecting some sort of resistance, I wasn't surprised to hear Vita's objection.

"Like hell you are! What? Did you think I was going to say 'Okay Ray, have fun!'? Why would you want to go out there anyways, it's below freezing, and—"

"I'll watch him."

I sighed in relief when I no longer had to sit through Vita's outburst, having been cut off by the voice of Jet. He walked forwards to stand beside me.

"Jet, I appreciate the offer," Vita responded. "But it's useless to go out at this time of night."

"Well, I wanted to head out anyways, do a little night hunting… I don't mind watching him."

"Let 'em go," Somin's voice cut in before Vita could make a retort. "He can freeze to death if he wants to." He paused before continuing in a less outward tone. "Probably wants to feel his amplitude again, and I don't blame him, feels like a damn drug."

"Amplitude?" I asked.

"The night, Ray. The moon. The thing that makes your energy spike."

"Oh, uh… I guess you're right, a little," I lied, hoping to break Vita's determination.

Either way, what could she do to keep me here if she still denied my request, short of tying me up until morning?

Actually, I didn't doubt her resolve to do so, should the situation arise…

Yet, with a sigh, she caved, spitefully ushering us outside with a flick of her head.

I huffed as I walked past, rueful to the fact I actually had to ask permission to leave.

Malicious thoughts against Vita's conduct all but disappeared, however, when I stepped outside and sighed relaxedly under the light of the moon.

Somin was right about how this felt… I could easily get used to the sensation of feeling my energy output increase. I stretched, content when a satisfying pop sounded in my spine.

A set of talons wrapped around me, their owner taking flight. I watched reluctantly as we crossed the river and flew above the forest.

"What the hell, Jet? I can walk!"

"It's cold enough out here," he responded. "We don't need to stay any longer than we need."

I groaned in repulsion.

"I'm gonna find a good spot, might take a second."

A sigh followed. Knowing, in the end, however, that this would be the easier path to take, I resigned myself to take a look upon the surrounding scenery.

Flying above the treeline provided for some spectacular views, I admitted. Despite my nose instantly feeling as if it were about to fall off, I actually enjoyed the sights I witnessed.

The moon was almost fully risen above an adjacent mountaintop, casting an eerie silver glow on the black trees below. Where there wasn't black was pure, unadulterated white, simply snow serenely reflecting the moon's gentle light. It all seemed so much more beautiful now, more than ever. Maybe it was because I'd hardly ever gotten rides on Jet, or maybe it was the fact I was experiencing my 'amplitude', as Somin called it. Either way, for those few, fleeting moments, I forgot about the fact I was suspended, only a single mistake away from plummeting to my death.

Before I knew it, the wind around me started to die down as we decelerated, slowly descending into a small clearing. I recognized instantly the bare branches of the lightning tree as we circled around it. It stood ominously, casting a long shadow on the snow behind it.

"Okay, hmm… Zorua… Zorua…" Jet rambled to himself, making a plan as to how the following series of events should play out.

While he thought, I noticed something I hadn't the previous night, and that was the fact that everything, and I mean _everything_ , was brighter. Blinking my eyes a few times, wondering how they'd adjusted so quickly, I stole a look at the moon. From its angle in the sky, there was no way it illuminated the surrounding area so effectively. Prior experience as a human had taught me that much.

After pondering it for a few more moments, I chuckled to myself. Dark-type, night-vision… It made sense. For less than a second, I thought myself as a superhero, with all these new, incredible powers, previously inaccessible to me.

Then I stopped, snapping back to reality. What kind of superhero couldn't even eat without assistance? I'd let my thoughts drift over the last few days, and when they caught on something interesting and positive, I somehow found a way to shoot it down within a few moments. I enjoyed those few, uplifting seconds. Hopefully, when everything passed and I was back to normal, I would find solace and happiness in normalcy alone.

Hell, that was Victor's entire thinking process. He seemed to enjoy just about every, little thing about life, somehow finding a way to put a positive spin on even the worst situations. Maybe that method of thought stemmed from the near-death encounter he'd experienced when I first met him? I didn't doubt it…

Maybe, if I wanted to be happy, I would need to feign happiness first. What did I have, at the time, to be appreciative about? I was stuck in the most stressful and most humiliating situation I'd ever been in.

A sudden thought crossed my mind, causing me to shudder. What if Mew failed in trying to get help? Would I be able to cope with the prospect of being stuck in this body forever?

Jet seemed to finish thinking by the time trepidation started to set in. I blocked off the malicious thoughts so I could hear him speak.

"Alright… I should've thought of this before… If you want to perform moves, you gotta have a pretty firm hold over your physical nature. Axle's been pretty lax in teaching you to run, so I'll do that, instead."

"What?! I thought you were gonna teach me how to fight!"

"Don't be naive, Ray… In any battle, it's never about the damage you deal, but the damage you take. There are prerequisites to this sort of thing…"

He paused, turning towards the lightning tree. He started speaking again before I could retort. "I can't pretend to know how a quadruped runs… Try and figure out what fits best for you, and we'll work on dodging maneuvers from that. I know you're going out of your way to train with me, just to get some petty revenge on some random Axew you hardly know, and if you ask me, your motives are flimsy… What I _do_ agree with, though, is the fact you need to learn to fight, and fast… We have plenty of time before we leave for Icirrus, so I'm not taking any chances."

He turned back towards me with a no-nonsense stare. "Understand?"

I gulped, swallowing down the sarcastic response forming at the tip of my tongue. I opted to ignore his statement about my grudge against Misa, hoping not to agitate him.

"So," he started, "what the hell are you waiting for? My approval? Figure it out. I'll be back in a few to see how you're doing."

"And where are you going?"

"Hunting," he replied. "I wasn't lying when I said I wanted to catch something… Basculin may be tasty, but not very filling."

With that, and without waiting for any response or approval on my part, he pressed off the ground and took flight, disappearing into the forest's shadow a second or two later.

I stared where he had disappeared, an argument finding residence in my mouth, ready to be expelled. With no target now, however, I shifted the words into some obscenity I muttered under my breath.

* * *

"How we do— Ah…"

I grunted ruefully at the small bout of laughter I heard from behind. It seemed Jet had caught wind of my failed attempts.

I had gotten a trot down fairly easily, considering it was simply walking, but at a faster clip. Running, however, would require I change my gait altogether. From what I imagined, the easiest way to do it would be pushing off with both hind legs, catching myself with my front, and repeating the process. Every time I pushed off, though, my front legs had either hindered my momentum, stopped me, or missed the ground altogether, causing for a wide range of failures, consisting of faceplants, slipping, and collisions with foreign objects. All my mistakes were recorded in the no-longer pristine snow. I was sure I was covered in the stuff, as well.

Jet had been gone for about ten minutes. The most I'd accomplished during that time was three strides before making a mistake.

Yet, it seemed Jet had the solution almost instantaneously.

"You're being _waaaaay_ too analytical about it. You can keep the stride you have, but try to let instinct take over, instead of constantly checking your actions for errors. You'll find that your body will automatically correct them for you. When you give it too much mind, your thoughts are drawn to that mistake, specifically, leading to either another one, or an over-correction."

I stared at the Braviary oddly. I certainly didn't expect him to have a solution outside the lines of 'keep trying'.

"It's freezing out here, Ray, and staying still doesn't help… We don't have all night. Get it done, and you can go back to the cave. I'm gonna stay out for a little bit, see if I can find anything special."

Sighing, I stood back up, shook myself off, and tried again, attempting to follow his advice. Instead of running through the motions in my head, as I'd had when learning to walk, I simply initiated the motion and let my instinct take over.

I perceived the motions running through my head, but gave them as little mind as possible. Instead, I simply let them run past the forefront of my mind, until they eventually blended into nothingness.

I was running… I actually succeeded. I restricted myself from getting too excited, however, and was instantly more worried about the rapidly-approaching treeline. Desperate, I tried pushing to the left when my hind paws next hit the ground, hoping to divert my momentum.

I was only half-successful. My front legs slid out to my right, a result of my having not fully turned my entire body to fit the change in direction. I tumbled for a short distance before being abruptly stopped by a large, thick object.

"Ah, shit… You okay?" I heard Jet's voice, approaching steadily, call. I responded to him with a simple chuckle.

"Yes!" I yelled, ignoring the pain flaring up from my back, the result of the impact with what I determined to be a tree.

"It's weird seeing a kit your size run… Others your age wouldn't know how to walk yet, maybe not even talk…"

I sent him a resentful glare.

"Don't over-analyze it," he continued. "It's a good thing."

With that, he took flight, swooping towards me and simultaneously yanking me from the ground in the process.

"I might officially ban the word 'kit' from now on," I half-joked, a slight scowl adorning my face.

"Aww, did I hit a sore spot? Would 'cub' be a better word?"

"Oh, shut up…"

* * *

I trotted into the cave a few minutes later, wanting nothing more than the fire, providing the only warmth one could get for miles.

I would be content with letting it consume me altogether, to be honest. Rolling around in the snow for ten minutes straight sure didn't help my desperation.

"What'd you do, make snow angels?" Axle asked as I laid down beside him, as close to the fire as possible without burning myself.

"Snow's pretty deep… I tripped a few times."

"Where'd Jet go?" Vita asked from my left side. Instead of being wrapped around a certain Zoroark, as I'd previously seen her, they now sat back-to-flank. Somin's head was staring solely towards the ceiling, his eyes wide. He was shaking, as well; I simply attributed it to the cold. The fire wasn't a panacea, that much was certain.

"He said something about staying out… Probably to hunt or something," I responded, sighing happily when heat penetrated my fur and graced my skin with its influence. I tried to expose as much of myself as possible to the open flame, laying with my belly towards it. If anything, my freezing, numb paws needed the most attention.

"I doubt he'll be back for a while, then… I don't understand how that bird runs on no sleep whatsoever…" Vita sighed.

"Yeah… Speaking of which, I'm gonna go ahead and get to sleep," Victor announced. "Let's make some beds tomorrow… The floor sucks."

"Yeah," sounds fine by me," Axle replied.

Somin gave a small grunt of affirmation.

Everyone started settling down, wordlessly conglomerating and laying down as a group. This had been a repeated drill we'd performed as we took residence up here initially during the winter. The fire wasn't always enough to feel warm.

I shook my head and gestured towards the fire when invited to join. I wasn't tired in the least, already having slept for most of the day.

"Night guys," Victor's voice was heard across the cave. Axle's repetition of the phrase followed soon after.

"Night," Vita said softly, closing her eyes. Her breathing evened after a minute or two.

I simply stared into the fire for the longest time, only raising my head when I realized Vita had fallen asleep.

Somin's eyes were still wide-open, staring at the ceiling in deep thought.

Sighing, I tried initiating a conversation.

"Somin?" I whispered, noticing his ears twitch in response. "Are you… Okay?"

" _Yeah… Just thinking,_ " he replied.

"About?" I asked tentatively. "Somin, it's okay to tell me if Vita was lying."

I was careful to make sure no other creature was awake, grateful for the fact no one else exhibited a reaction to the words.

" _Yeah… That Vanillish story hardly had any sense of believability… She was lying, but only because she thought it would scare you."_

"Can you tell me the truth, then? I need to know, Somin, if it's gonna end up being a problem."

" _Yeah, I know…"_

Somin sighed, adjusting his stare to have it rest on me.

" _Mew came and talked to her,_ " he revealed. " _Said that basically, she'd caught a lead on finding Arceus, and was soon to pursue it. She said she's been protecting us over the last week, but in a week's time, she'll be gone altogether._ "

I sat there, gawking at Somin. They'd thought it was a good idea to keep this from me?

"And why didn't Mew come to me about this?" I hissed.

" _She didn't want you to lose hope… She was afraid, if you figured it out, you'd give up on trying to be human again…_ "

"So she'll tell Vita, but not me…"

" _It was just a warning to be on our guards… I'm just worried, is all…_ "

I sighed frustratedly, turbulent thoughts coursing through my head. My trust in her only continued to decline.

" _Look, I should, uhh… Probably get some sleep… Tomorrow's gonna be busy if we want to make this place resemble any sort of comfort._ "

"You do that," I shot back, turning my gaze back to the fire. I had a _lot_ to think about.

I let my subconscious wander about as my gaze became transfixed. I soon lost all sense of time passing. No longer was I a Zorua in a perilous situation, but a human once more, simply residing on a mountain for a full year.

* * *

 _The fourteen year old boy sat, alone. Adjusting himself of the tree branch, he stared solemnly at the moon as it rose in the sky. A thin, white blanket of snow covered the base of the tree, alongside the sections of the branch he did not bother dusting off._

 _He wondered, as he'd wondered every day for the last ten or so months… Was there an afterlife? If so, was she watching them all now? How was she feeling, alone in the sky? Maybe she saw everyone through the moon's eyes._

 _He sighed. Why in the world had he dragged his team up to this desolate piece of land? All four remaining members were absolutely miserable, even if they did feign the gratitude for a year-long training session._

 _Maybe it was time to give up. He'd faced difficult losses before, and had only beaten Clay and Skyla's respective gyms through multiple, failed attempts. Sometimes, he thought they let him win, if only to be rid of him._

 _Brycen, however, was a different story. The fact the possibly strongest member of the team, his Servine, had a type disadvantage surely didn't help._

 _He thought about quitting altogether. What good was he doing, only putting his team through pain and suffering for his personal gain. It was only going to get colder outside, December only a few days away._

 _He hugged himself, hoping to heat the skin beneath his heavy jacket._

 _He'd told himself that his team appreciated the ability to train, and cherished fighting with one another. Every pretense was shattered, however, in January of that same year…_

 _He started to cry, again…_

" _Goddamnit," he thought. "I thought I was past this… I… This is what he wants… I won't let him get to me."_

" _Get real," his other side told him. "Sure, it was fun while it lasted, but she died because of me… There's no going back from that. I got six badges… Maybe it's time to call it quits, before it happens again… Vita, Somin, Axle, Jet… If they were to die, how could I live with myself?_

 _He held it back as hard as he could. His team… They were waiting inside the cave, only a few hundred yards away. He had to be strong, and make grown-up decisions._

 _Ten months… It still hadn't been enough time for him to move on. Some days, he thought he'd wake up, with Sierra still sleeping in his chest, as she always did._

 _He saw her face in his mind's eye, finally enough to push him over the edge. He screamed into the night, fully sobbing._

" _I'm sorry!" he shrieked. "I had to try! I didn't want to, I swear!"_

 _If she was watching him, how disappointed would she be in him? No amount of guilt would absolve him of what he'd done._

 _He hardly noticed how he'd lost his grip on the branch in the process of his self-pity, and hardly cared as he fell backwards._

 _He hurtled towards the ground, and grunted as his back came into contact with the cold snow. The breath was knocked out of him._

 _He wheezed in between sobs, trying to get a hold of himself._

 _He perked up as he felt something rub up against his skin. He turned abruptly to find nothing there._

" _It's okay, Ray," a feminine voice sounded out of nowhere. "It'll all be okay."_

 _He then felt it… The warmth pushing past his skin and making his breathing easy… She was back to torment him again. He thought he was finally rid of her!_

 _He protested internally as he felt a warm embrace, non-physical, take a hold of him completely._

" _No!" he screamed! "I don't want you! Why do you keep following me?! I made you go away!"_

 _He shot off in a random direction, hoping to distance himself and the entity as much as possible._

" _Why is she back?" he questioned himself under his breath._

 _He had no idea where he was running, as long as it was away. Maybe if he hid, she wouldn't be able to find him._

" _Ray, I just want to talk to you. Please, stop running."_

 _He just pushed even harder, running faster than he ever had._

" _Ray," the voice, unrelenting, said, full of pity._

" _Please!" the boy screamed. "Leave me—"_

 _For a single moment, pink flooded his vision entirely, and in the next, he was on the ground._

 _He thought he saw spontaneous flashes of pink disappearing behind trees, just out of the corner of his eye. He scooted away, now fearing the worst._

" _I thought you were done with this, Ray… You made me come back."_

" _N-no!" he yelled into the forest. "I-I'm fine, please, leave me alone!"_

" _You have nothing to be afraid of, Ray. I'm here to help you get past what you're feeling, so you can be there for the rest of your team."_

" _I don't need you! You want me to forget about her! I won't let you get into my head again!"_

" _Ray, I can tell you that's not what I'm trying to do here. I really just wish you weren't so hard on yourself for something you couldn't control. Sierra hates to see you like this."_

" _She hates me!" he yelled back, into the darkness. "What would you know about what she wants?! Why do you care?! Why do you keep following me?!"_

" _I'm a friend. I'm on your side."_

" _Like hell you are! I have no idea what you're doing here! What are you?"_

" _I'm a frie—"_

" _That's bullshit! Sierra was my friend! You're just a miserable person that likes to see me like this! I bet you wanted her to die!"_

" _You're being irrational, Ray."_

" _Prove it to me!" he screeched, frustrated. "Prove it, then! If you mean good, prove it!"_

" _Ray, I—"_

" _Prove it! Prove it now! You've done nothing but torture me for the last few months! How can I—"_

" _Quiet."_

 _The single, solitary word, was spoken in such a way, a way so unfamiliar to the boy, as to destroy any sense of resistance. He was suddenly afraid, very afraid._

" _I'll show myself to you, just this once… In the morning, you'll have forgotten all about what happened, here and now, until I introduce myself formally. I'm just here for you while you grieve._ "

 _Before the boy could protest, a flicker of movement behind him caught his eye. He whipped his head around to find nothing there._

" _Happy?" the voice asked simply._

 _In front of him… He turned his head back around to finally meet the mysterious woman that had haunted him nonstop for nearly a year._

 _His eyes widened as he met the creature's appearance… His muscles instantly locked up in complete fear._

" _Now look," the creature said. "Whether you like it or not, I've waited more than enough. Sierra hates seeing you like this. I hate seeing you like this."_

 _The creature approached the boy. He couldn't shy away, even if he wanted to. He could protest none as both of the creature's paws pressed against his cheeks. She leaned in and pressed her own forehead against his._

 _Her voice appeared in his mind once more._

" _There are so many more important things in life than mourning for so long. I'm not saying you should forget her entirely, of course not. It's good to remember your mistakes, so that one day, you might come to learn from them."_

 _Her bright, blue eyes, contrasting the darkness like a flashlight, opened to gaze into his own._

" _I care about you, Ray… One day, you'll come to learn that… Your team… They're all amazing Pokémon that need a strong leader, especially now. There is nothing in this world that can stop you…"_

 _She paused, pulling away. He no longer noticed her power's hold on him, causing a weightless effect on his limbs._

" _As we speak, there is a soul, not far from here, in jeopardy. Given more time without intervention, Giratina will come for him. If you truly feel a need to reconcile yourself for the soul you blame yourself for taking, go, and save this one. Focus on the future, and not on the past…"_

 _The creature disappeared entirely, promptly before her voice appeared in his head one, final time. He would not see a single trace of her for two years, her next reappearance would be on a dark, quiet street, in the distant city of Opelucid._

" _Be strong, Ray."_

 _He felt the warmth as it traveled to his brain. It occupies the space, making his head feel as if it were engulfed in a gentle flame._

" _I believe in you."_

 _He tried moving now that the creature was gone, only to find his muscles were still locked._

" _I'll see you in a few years."_

 _Before he could protest, a pinch of pain hit his skull, promptly before his entire world went black._


	10. Foreboding

**l**

 **Chapter IX - Foreboding**

* * *

"You changed my memories…"

I snapped out of what I assumed to be a Mew-induced vision, relaying to me the subject of forgotten memories.

I had no recollection, until now, of those events whatsoever. As I remembered it, I was simply out on a walk the night I met Victor. The Durant was under attack at the time. A stray Heatmor had pursued him for hours in the mountains and finally caught him, ready to eat the metal ant before I intervened.

My mouth dropped… Such an encounter… To have it completely erased was immensely unsettling. Were there other events of my past I simply did not remember?

I felt betrayal, above all else… It was as if the memories had been unlocked. I could feel floodgates opening to display every minute detail within my mind.

Why had Mew shown me this? She must've figured that my respect and trust for her would only wane as a result. Remorse? Guilt? No, she was probably just trying to get me to trust her again.

If she demonstrated she had done me wrong, but could fix the mistakes, I bet she thought it would reinforce my trust for her, after Somin had just shattered it entirely.

Mt Chimney hadn't been the first time I met her… All throughout the few months past the Black City incident, she'd spoken to me, encouraging me to heal…

I sure as hell remembered how depressed I was, but I recalled no specific remedy… All I remembered from that miserable time was… Well, a mysterious, pink figure that kept following me around. I was told by a therapist in Icirrus that it was nothing more than a hallucination on my part representing a sort of unnecessary guilt I felt deep down.

Now that I thought about it, however, that therapist was the only other human on earth that knew what happened that specific January night, when I was still only 13 years old.

"Self preservation," I chuckled spitefully to myself. "You just couldn't wait to make me forget about her entirely, couldn't you? And after, you covered your tracks by fucking with my head even more..."

I knew she was listening, regardless of the fact I had no evidence whatsoever.

"What, was my being depressed getting in the way of your plan to make the perfect trainer?"

No response…

"You know what? Fuck you, Mew… You were absolutely right, all you do is screw everything up… I bet if you did anything else, I'll just end up even worse off…"

My exclamation was a spur-of-the-moment action. I hadn't even realized by sending her away, I was giving up all chances of becoming human again.

Maybe, at that point, I cared more about staying alive than anything else. Being a Zorua was better than being dead, was it not?

I huffed, rose, and stalked over towards the pile of sleeping Pokémon a few yards away. It seemed a considerable amount of time had passed during my vision when taking into account his soft snores and the strain of disuse in my muscles.

On top of that, the sky seemed even darker outside… Midnight, by my approximation, meaning, to the outside perspective, I'd been staring into a fire for two or three hours straight.

I sent a spiteful glare around the room as I squeezed in a spot I found between the sleeping forms of Vita and Axle. My fur was bent uncomfortably in every which way, reminding me how much the fire seemed to do its job in warming me.

I was nothing more than a tiny space-heater, I observed, probably hot to the touch. I was proven correct as Vita shifted uncomfortably in her sleep.

I knew I wouldn't be getting a wink of rest, but this was the best I could manage, in terms of warmth. The fire was dying, slowly, prompting me to seek other sources of comfort.

A rustle near the cave's entrance brought my attention to its source. The first thought was simply a hopeful wish Mew would be floating before me, a manifestation of my desire to let my frustration out on a material object.

A figure precariously walked into the cavern, instantly discernible as Jet. I hadn't suspected him to be back so soon. He gave a glance towards his sleeping comrades, and didn't seem to notice I was awake.

He grabbed a leftover Magikarp, alongside a few Aspear Berries from our stash of food. Before I asked him what he needed the food for, he was gone, having flown back out the entrance.

 _Odd…_

I chose to think nothing of it. He was probably having bad luck while hunting, and was simply hungry. I wasn't about to hold that against him.

Vita shifted further in her sleep, placing a barrier between myself and the outside world. Now I wouldn't be able to leave, even if I had a need to do so.

Sighing, I squirmed, hoping to find a more comfortable position. I only stopped once I'd successfully made enough space between the two behemoths surrounding me to stretch out my legs to the side. The resulting area was simply a tent made out of flesh, encompassing me entirely. Something about it felt oddly protecting and comforting…

At the very least, I was warm… I wouldn't be able to manage that much sleeping alone.

I closed my eyes, praying I would be able to get to sleep soon…

My prayers were certainly left unanswered. For hours I tossed and turned, attempting to focus solely on the breathing of both Axle and Vita in vain efforts of self-inflicted hypnotism.

Needless to say, I failed. No matter how hard I tried, for a solid few hours, my thoughts kept coming back to Mew. A part of me believed she was forcefully keeping me awake, hoping my unremedied exhaustion would break down my mind enough to forgive her.

I discredited myself. Even I doubted she would go to such means. It was simply a crappy night, no one to blame it on but myself.

At one point, I believe I heard Jet return, but in my enclosure, was unable to see him.

I'd been entertaining an option for hours, but after what I estimated to be 3 o'clock, I finally figured I needed the sleep, an end to satisfy the means. I was exhausted, but my body wouldn't let itself rest. So, I would put it to sleep forcefully.

Sighing, I opened an illusionary connection with Vita, hoping I wouldn't wake her in the process. Grunting quietly with the effort of keeping to open long enough to feel fatigue, I gritted my teeth.

Approximately fifteen seconds passed before I was too tired to continue, thankfully with only a slight headache. My eyes felt undeniably heavy now, accompanied by a natural desire to rest. I let a smile grace my face at my own ingenuity as I gratefully slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

Mew looked upon the scene with a special sort of despair… Ray hadn't even considered the possibility she actually cared about him. For whatever reason, he was predisposed to the idea she was a selfish creature.

The fact he believed she only cared about him in self-interest frustrated her to no end. Though, the only thing on earth that may have frustrated her more was the mere fact she'd only proven him right again and again. She'd wanted to demonstrate she thought of the human much more highly than he imagined, but in the hour she'd had a conversation with him, all she'd done was undermine his decision and let him die after her promise of his safety.

She landed outside the cave, taking down her invisibility out of pure carelessness. She got a crick in her neck whenever she kept it up for long periods, anyways.

 _I… I'm not selfish…_

His claims were not unfounded, but largely speculative. Her nature as a legendary placed her in an uncomfortable position. Rarely had she ever been the object of disrespect…

She could hardly be angry with her human, but was furious, however, with the blatant and unfounded lie Somin had told Ray… Never had she spoken to Vita about leaving. She had to commend the Zoroark, however. It may have been an innate part of his nature, but he was an extremely practiced liar.

She would have believed the announcement of the abrupt departure herself, if she were not directly involved. Of course, Ray was simply a human, one with prior ties to the Zoroark. Of course he would be predisposed to believing him over herself…

As much as she cared for Ray, he had to be the most rash human she'd ever encountered… Maybe it was why he survived this long, by comparison to—

She mentally slapped herself. She wouldn't let her thoughts wander to the others. Even if Ray did not want her, she wanted him. She promised herself it was not a desire for self-preservation, as Ray had accused, and instead, a longing to mingle with a creature, however simplistic, she'd been following silently for three years…

 _I need him, either way. And it's coincidence now, but he needs me._

She would focus everything she had on not letting this one slip through her paws.

Wiping any tears her fur harbored with a forearm, she started floating again… Her attempt to make Ray see reason had failed, but she would not relent. If she gave him time, he would probably heal, enough to go back to pining for his human body. She would be there for him then.

She was discouraged, however, when she remembered all the searches for the Creator she'd initiated thus far ended in failure.

"Where the hell are you Arcy?" she mumbled to herself. Either he was intentionally hiding himself, or some human-made device was concealing his life force. Otherwise, she would have been able to feel it instantly.

Ray was long asleep now. She'd previously accompanied him during his struggle to fall asleep, but did not sedate him. She wanted to give him the pretense she was gone altogether, considering his undying anger.

Jet had entered the cave after his 'hunting session'. She highly doubted he was actually doing as he said, but decided not to follow him. While the Braviary was an enigma, her human was much more important to stand by.

Her thoughts drifted to the Beartic she had killed earlier the same day. The previous day, really, it was most definitely past midnight.

Ray's appreciation for his life being saved was nonexistent. He thought nearly nothing of the protection she provided, instead focusing on the Axew he hardly knew.

She wanted him to be happy, of course, but tried her best to shove artificial involvement from the equation. She wouldn't tamper with his mind any more. She needed his trust, before anything.

* * *

 _Goddamn it…_

The dream, again… Why did it have to come back? I was almost absolutely sure it wasn't naturally created by my resting mind.

I'd promised myself the next time I had it, I would tell someone. I'd hoped to never have to experience the gruesome scene again, but fate seemed to be against me. The face of the Zorua as the life left its eyes. The face of the human as he grieved. It was a rough scene to watch, especially multiple times in a row.

I took a glance around the cave to see daylight streaming in from the opening. I lay not where I fell asleep, but next to a calm fire, apparently having been rekindled while I slept. No one accompanied me.

With the lack of companionship, I started thinking. Was the dream Mew-induced each and every night? If so, what did it represent? The legendary was always so frustratingly vague.

Though, that got me thinking about Mew's abilities… Just last night, she had shown to me lost memories, ones she'd erased personally. Who's to say she hadn't done it again? Did this actually happen through my eyes?

If so, then…

"Somin," I said to myself. The Zoroark was alive and well, that much I knew. However, he had just barely dodged death more than a few times…

That Zorua _was_ dead, though. No chance of coming back. It debunked nearly every rational contingency of the theory. While it was still possible for the dreams to be events of my past, I doubted it.

The boy looked to be only nine or ten in addition. If Mew was telling the truth, she'd only started following me a few months before my fourteenth birthday. If Somin had died as a Zorua then, Mew wouldn't have brought him back as she had in Opelucid.

Whether or not the Zoroark died in the Gym Battle was still a subject for debate. I was one to argue he was, though I may have simply been seeing things.

The other possibility, and the one I took as most trustworthy, was the theory that Zorua was, in fact, me.

Was Mew trying to warn me about some event yet to happen? Would I die a terrible death in the near future? That boy, though… He was a trainer, and the Zorua was his Pokémon… I knew, laying there next to the fire, that I would never let myself get captured…

Maybe someone else would know what they signified.

I stood, stretched, and walked silently outside.

"Morning," Victor greeted as I stepped into the sunlight. I nodded my head towards the Durant in return.

"How long did I sleep in this time?"

"Not long… We were all tired. We got up maybe an hour ago…"

"Where's everyone else, then?"

"Oh, they went down next to the training field. Jet thought he saw some straw grass above the snow… Vita thought it would make good bedding if, you know, we warmed it up…"

"That's good," I replied. "I don't like the floor that much."

"They told me to stay here and wait for you to wake up… Just in case, you know… Something big saw you as a snack."

"Way to cheer me up, Victor," I grumbled, narrowing my eyes.

"You're welcome!"

I sighed… The enthusiasm in his voice was spoken in such a manner as to disable me from discerning whether or not is was simple sarcasm. I rolled my eyes.

"Now that you _are_ awake, though," he said contentedly, "we should go help them out… It's gonna take a few trips to get enough."

"Uhh, yeah," I answered, stepping towards him.

We proceeded together towards the river, where we met our first trial… Victor was most definitely too heavy to cross, and I was unsure the ice would still be able to hold my own weight, especially after Axle had broken it up the night before.

Though, Victor had a solution.

"Axle figured out earlier that the ice is thicker by the stepping stones. Even with how heavy he was, the ice was easily able to keep his weight."

"Mhmm," I responded absentmindedly.

We crossed without incident. He'd allowed me to go first, and as I waited for him to follow, I started thinking.

Would Victor be an adequate target for my sharing of the recurring dreams? He wasn't exactly the philosophical type, even if he did find a way to put a positive spin on almost anything.

We started walking into the forest, following the fresh footsteps of our companions. I knew the way to the training grounds quite well, having visited it frequently during our year on the mountain.

Somin had even taken me straight to it when teaching me about illusions two nights before.

After a bit of thought, weighing the pros and cons of Victor as a possible candidate, I decided I would propose a vague question to him, and continue based on the nature of his answer.

I waited until we'd gone a distance from the river before asking.

"Soo… Random question, Victor, but have you ever had repeating dreams?"

The Durant turned back towards me, narrowing his eyes in a tantalizing manner.

"If you wanna ask advice about weird dreams you're having Ray, ask me straight up. Or at least try to be a little more vague about it…"

I muttered some obscenity under my breath. Victor may have not been the best at holding secrets, but was like a Growlithe when it came to identifying others'.

"Well," I responded, "have any experience with them? I don't know what to make of mine."

"Of course," he said, as if his revelation was nothing important. "I used to have nightmares all the time about the night we met."

"Oh, right…" I responded sheepishly. "We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"Eh, I'm past it. Life is life, you know? I was lower on the food chain, but I was lucky you were there to help me out. Just thinking about that, and knowing it wasn't yet my time to die was enough to get rid of the nightmares entirely. The Heatmor was scary, sure, but I was able to move past it with time… Your dreams about what happened? It's understandable."

"N-no," I responded, shocked at his nonchalance surrounding his explanation. "It's something else, something I don't really understand, but… Victor, you were a mess after we found you. You wouldn't go near fire for months! Hell, you were permanently scarred, physically. How do you just move past that?"

"Call it enlightenment," he said jokingly. "I knew I was safe with you guys, and after my thorax healed, I healed emotionally. The best part is that my thought process came out better as a result of everything. If anything, I should thank that Heatmor…"

I gawked at the Durant, images flashing to the forefront of my mind. Victor, laying down belly-up with an aggressive and feral Heatmor straddling him. With its tongue of flame, it slowly cooked his underside, distorting the metal so it could access its prey's insides. How does one simply get over that?

"It's a joke, Ray. I'm glad Axle ended up killing it, but it was acting on survival instinct, what else was there for it to do?"

Before I could retort, or go on to discuss my lost memories about that night, he spoke up again.

"We're talking about you, though, remember? Your dreams. What are they about?"

"It's uhh… about a boy and a Zorua. The Zorua, it got really hurt and ended up bleeding to death in the boy's arms… He kept wailing about how he only wanted to go on an adventure together, and that's pretty much it…"

"And how long has this been going on?"

"Three, four days? I don't really remember when they started."

"Same dream every time?"

"Yeah… All the same."

"Hmm… I honestly wouldn't worry. More likely than anything it's your fears about your transformation catching up to you. You might not feel them anymore, but they're there, buried in your subconscious."

"Yeah, but why this dream? And why does it keep happening?"

He adopted a thoughtful expression before he went back to walking, explaining as we trudged along.

"Well, I'm guessing the bond between the Zorua and the boy signifies your normal life of training Pokémon being shattered by the transformation, or the accident that killed the Zorua. Maybe rushing it to the Pokémon center represents your desire to make everything normal again? I dunno…"

If loosely constructed, it made sense. Did my mind really function on that complicated a level?

"Thanks, Vic," I said nonetheless, sending a grateful nod in his direction.

"Not a problem," he responded. "We're almost to the rest of the team anyways. You want me to talk to Vita about what's going on? She might be able to help you with any fears you may—"

"Let me stop you right there… Coddling isn't how I imagine I'm going to get over myself… I'd appreciate it if you kept it between us."

"Uhh, sure thing."

Wordlessly, I walked ahead, stepping into the clearing of the training ground. The stump in which I'd first learned illusions was visible just above the surface of the snow. The team was to the far left of the clearing, in a widely unused area. Tall grass, straw, and scrub stalks shot up out of the snow, measuring up to Somin's thighs by comparison.

The Zoroark himself was using his claws as a scythe for a more or less efficient means of slicing the plants as low as possible, leaving what fell for Vita and Axle to pick up. Jet was nowhere to be found.

"Oh, hey!" Axle called as we approached. "Victor, you're probably better suited for Somin's job, so I'm glad you two showed…"

"Why wouldn't we?" I responded, letting a hint of edge touch my voice.

"Oh, well, uh… You were really knocked out… I-"

"I remember how you told us you didn't want to sleep for longer than us," Vita interjected, stopping for a moment from her work. "No matter what we tried, though, you wouldn't wake up."

She chuckled. "Would've thought you were dead if it weren't for the fact you were breathing…"

Some instinct told me I shouldn't reveal to anyone I had intentionally knocked myself out.

It struck me as odd Somin hadn't added anything to the conversation. Surely, he would take advantage of the opportunity to poke fun at my recent excess exhaustion. I'd surely gotten used to his lightheartedness at the misfortune of others, so a lack of it was surprising.

He simply kept hacking away at the grass, as if it were an enemy of his. Lack of a facial expression revealed deep thought. The Zoroark's behavior seemed well off track. Even in the last few days, he'd been cheerful enough to function normally, but it seemed something major was on his mind. Mew's impending disappearance, maybe?

"Whatever," I sighed… "Where's Jet at?"

"He isn't exactly much help here," Axle revealed. "Body shape and all… He decided to go see if he could find something else to contribute. Even with the amount we have here," she gestured towards the field, "it's nowhere near enough to make a bed to fit all of us."

"Right," I replied. "Now… Victor, think you can Vice Grip a pretty big area to cut everything down?"

"Not all at once, but," he said, turning towards an unoccupied and uncut portion of the field. His mandibles took on a gradually brighter silver shine. Once the full metal underneath had disappeared, completely coated in energy, they seemed to enlarge, until they were exponentially larger than they once were. A single chomp successfully sliced an entire swath of grass. The individual shoots fell to the snow, cluttering the pure whiteness with their presence.

"Well, that was a solid five minutes of work at the rate we were going," Somin sighed exasperatedly, finally stopping for a moment to survey the Durant's work.

"You're welcome!" Victor exclaimed, closing his eyes as a soft, tantalizing smile formed.

Somin grumbled something about his claws under his breath before I proposed a question.

"Need me to do anything?"

"Uhh," the Zoroark replied, turning to face me with a nervous glance. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"I've got something," Vita interjected, slithering towards me. She proceeded to take a bundle of grass, held together and suspended above the snow with a vine, and stick it through the fur around my neck. It was long and durable enough to hold the dead stalks in place.

The itchy grass running up against the back of my neck prompted a shiver.

I sent a glare towards Vita, who seemed amused by my appearance.

"You said you wanted to help," she defended herself, all the spite directed towards me the previous night seemingly nonexistent. At least she seemed to be loosening up. Otherwise, I was sure she'd advocate for my doing nothing. Maybe Somin had given her a talk, as she often did to him. They often kept the other in line if a behavior or remark went too far overboard.

"Okay, let's finish up here," Axle spoke, starting to pick up large clumps of grass with his gigantic front paws. "Then we go find Jet and figure out what we're gonna do to stop this stuff from itching."

* * *

After gathering all the bedding material we could find, the team carried the portion that couldn't be stuck in my natural scarf. It was able to hold a lot more than I ever imagined, even if it wasn't a quarter of our entire load.

We set off to find the Braviary in the direction he'd left, as dictated by Axle, and after searching for maybe ten minutes, we found him, and in a very fortunate position, at that.

He was scratching at the snow below him with a talon, looking up to us with a smirk when we arrived. When asked about what he was doing, he simply gestured to the ground beneath him.

A small portion of snow was cleared away to reveal soft, cold, and green moss. The fact something was living that far under the snow was surprising enough, but a longer look revealed the fact there was a _lot_ of it.

When we finally cleared the rest of the snow, we were ecstatic to find the entire surface area was more than enough to fit all of us with ease. The next twenty minutes were spent cutting the organism into a large portion we could all collectively carry.

Our bedding problem was solved with relative ease.

It even proved durable enough to fold, in order to be carried across the river by two Pokémon, rather than all of them.

While waiting for the bedding ingredients to warm by the fire, we had a short brunch, most everyone having not eaten when they woke. A few Cheri Berries were enough to satisfy my hunger.

I opted not to share my recurring dreams with the others, fearing a reaction widely different than Victor's. He'd provided me with all the answers I needed, nonetheless. There was no point bringing it up with anyone else. It was simply my mind reeling from the changes, and I simply had to adjust before they went away.

We ended up laying out the strawgrass evenly across a section of the floor to provide a comfortable buffer between the rocky ground and the moss we placed on top. We made sure to place it close enough to the fire to provide warmth without creating a hazard.

The rest of the day passed by uneventfully. Mostly, it was spent with each member of the team going about their separate business. Jet left to do Arceus-knows-what, Axle went foraging for more food, and Victor and Vita remained in the cave.

As for Somin and myself, the Zoroark suggested we go outside for illusionary exercises. Of course, I was reluctant to accept the condition we venture out, but he stated that the cold would be an effective distraction, therefore dulling my concentration and rendering it harder to conjure illusions.

He gave some stupid speech about the positive effect on being able to get past distraction in battle, but by then, I had conceded, knowing there would be no way to change his mind.

Vita suggested she come along, seeing as she had a desire to observe my progress, but Somin, in an oddly over-protective manner, denied her request and instructed her to stay by the fire.

I opted not to ask him about it as we left the cave, dubbing it as a touchy subject.

Nothing particularly eventful happened during our time at the training ground. I performed a few exercises, making sure not to tire myself out, before a spontaneous question festered in my mind.

"Hey Somin?" I asked, deciding it was an opportune time as any to take a break.

"Tired?" he asked, breaking out of a thoughtful silence. "I have Orans if you want them…"

"No, it's about what you were explaining yesterday… The three types of illusions."

"What about it?"

"You never said the third. You were gonna tell me, but you stopped."

"Oh," he responded, scratching his head. "Uhh, I guess I can tell you, but it's all theoretical."

"What do you mean?"

He shrugged his shoulders, staring down towards me.

"No one knows if they're possible… They used to tell me stories as a kit of the legendary Zoroark, founder of our society, who cast a self-sustaining, perpetual illusion to hide our kind in Lostlorn Forest."

"Permanent illusions?"

"Like I said, no one's sure if they're even possible… To make one would require unthinkable amounts of power, alongside the knowledge of how to conjure it… No one's even figured out that much…"

"Huh," I responded, nodding in understanding. "Do you think it's possible?"

Somin chuckled. "I've been trying to figure out how to do it for years. My main drive to get better when I was younger… Truth is, I don't know… I've done something like it before, where I feed an illusion enough power to last for a day and a half, max, and detach it so it can run on its own. That's what I did to close your mouth, by the way."

He stared at me after finishing, the ponderous look on his face diminishing. "Just rambling… Let's get back to it, shall we?"

The rest of the afternoon was filled with training, whether it be physical or illusionary. After practicing opening connections profusely, I suggested to Somin the prospect of physical exercise. He seemed surprised at my knowledge of running, however little. Having been a quadruped himself years earlier, he gave me a few pointers every so often.

By the time we finished, I could proclaim I'd mastered turning while keeping a stride. It was late afternoon when we finally stopped, a result of my being too tired to continue. With the knowledge I had, I wouldn't be able to perform any advanced dodging maneuvers, but I was prepared in the case I needed to escape a rough situation.

I had a quick, early dinner when we returned to the cave, followed by my settling down on the bed we'd crafted, in a spot closest to the fire as possible and falling asleep.

Besides having the dream again, nothing more than a repeat of the ghastly vision of a dying Zorua, the night was uneventful. I slept through the entirety of the rest of the team's eating and falling asleep, not waking once until morning.

When I woke, my entire body, with an exception of my head, was covered by Vita's heavy figure. I found only Axle and Victor were awake, the former roasting a few fish, presumably leftover from the previous night, over the fire. They spoke quietly with one another, and proceeded to greet me when they realized I was awake.

Jet flew in the cave a few minutes later, took a fish and an Aspear Berry for himself to eat, and promptly flew back out.

"Did he even come back last night?" I asked when he was gone.

"No, not as far as I know," Axle responded, turning towards where the Braviary had just left.

"Doesn't he hate Aspear?" Victor spoke, tilting his head up towards Axle.

"Huh… That's weird… When isn't he weird, though?"

That question prompted a light chuckle from myself.

"He grabbed an Aspear two nights ago too and left… Maybe he's just cold at night? They unfreeze you, after all," I suggested, remembering the Braviary's suspicious movements while everyone else was asleep.

Vita woke maybe thirty minutes later, yet didn't announce her consciousness until absolutely necessary, much to my annoyance. Without her moving, I was trapped. I could tell she'd intentionally done it as an excuse to have me lay with her for a little longer.

That was just how Vita worked, though… Deceive others to achieve her own, flimsy goals. She didn't care if it made me uncomfortable, and maybe even reveled in it. Perhaps she found it funny to see me struggle, now that I was powerless? No. She cared. I knew she did, deep down. She'd seen herself as a mother of mine during the latter years of my journey, but now she had the means to exercise her agonizing motherly love.

Somin didn't wake for a full hour after, giving the excuse of 'couldn't sleep' for his sleeping in. He was probably plagued with thoughts of Mew's imminent abandonment, resulting in his staying up late.

 _Good riddance._

The day passed fairly quickly afterwards. Vita finally let me get up, followed by a quick, talkative breakfast. Afterwards, we tried keeping the normal, daily routine, consisting of Jet's disappearing (I still had no idea what the Braviary was up to), Victor and Axle's fishing and harvesting food, and Somin and my training. As for Vita… Somin still maintained his over-protective attitude towards her, annoying the Serperior greatly. I considered asking him why he was so on-edge about something as trivial and unnoticeable as Mew disappearing, but held my tongue. I doubted I would get a very pleasant response.

While training, and out of pure curiosity, I asked Somin about illusions of pain, clueless as to why my method of inflicting harm on the Axew two days before had been ineffective. He simply gave me an odd look, explaining there existed different methodology for different illusions, and left it at that. When I asked if I could start learning, he sarcastically promised me he would teach me if I got a hold on speaking and conjuring other sounds.

At the rate I was learning and becoming conditioned to using them, which was remarkable in his words, that promise would still take weeks, maybe even months to fulfill.

I couldn't quite feel a noticeable difference the exercises were accomplishing, even if Somin encouraged me by saying my connections were feeling less feeble. I wasn't quite sure how he was able to tell, but took his word as fact and kept going.

If anything, my endurance grew, if only marginally. By the time the day was finished, and after having ingested somewhere close to twenty-five Orans, the effects of keeping a single, five-second connection hardly fatigued me. With this, and granted I was given breaks, I could at least keep up a very primitive conversation using illusions.

I was extremely frustrated at how slow progress was going. When I'd thought about learning illusions during my first few days as a Zorua, I imagined being able to accomplish what Somin did without effort. In my miscalculation, I seemed to have forgotten he'd had practice when I first met him, and even then, he was extremely debilitated.

The first time I'd met the Zoroark was nothing but a prank, an irony quite in line with his nature. A delicious apple sat quite high up in a tree outside of Nimbasa City while Vita the Snivy and I were traveling to the First Gym. Upon grabbing it with a vine, it just disappeared.

He got his just desserts, however. After a few more times, Vita grew frustrated and began waving her vines around, knocking the invisible Zorua out of a tree branch and subsequently breaking his leg in the fall. What an introduction to what would be my strongest team member.

Evolution, it seemed, played a large factor in his ability to maintain illusions. He'd once described evolution to me as nothing more than the process of one's core growing too strong for their body to handle. As such, most of their power was redirected to shaping a new body for them, hence the form change. With a new body comes much more room for power to grow, succeeding in providing a vastly greater store to take from.

Evolution, though, at least for me, was a long ways away. Years, speaking truthfully. By then, I was surely going to be changed back. I would make sure of it, with or without Mew being the catalyst.

A few days passed without anything interesting happening. My proficiency with illusions grew steadily, and Jet had taught me how to maneuver even more adeptly in our private training sessions after everyone else was asleep. I'd almost fully mastered simple dodges.

Feral encounters were few and far between, but not unheard of. There had been two in those few days, the first being a feral Excadrill, probably from the nearby cave systems. It showed up directly at the cave's entrance, apparently smelling the food inside. When Victor noticed it, he dispatched it rather quickly with a superpowered Vice Grip straight to the neck.

The second was a feral Sawsbuck, but no violence was deemed necessary, considering it was out of our cave's territory, and it didn't even seem to notice us. It was only Somin and I, at the training grounds. The Zoroark was ready to kill the creature at any time, nonetheless.

Speaking of the Zoroark…

Somin got increasingly worried as time passed, sometimes taking time at night for personal walks. I imagined he just sat outside the cave, watching the moon. He had a lot on his mind, unwarranted by Mew's abandonment. There were only a few times I'd ever seen him so irritably self-conscious.

I made a decision on First of October, four days later and nine after my transformation, to bring up the question. By then, I'd had quite enough of his antics; he was nothing but a devolving emotional mess. He jumped at every question sent his direction, could hardly form a sentence without jittery thoughts entering his mind, and was, somehow, even more protective of Vita.

My hypothesis was that the Zoroark would grow more and more relaxed and like his old self as time passed and I slowly got more and more used to this body. But, it was quite the opposite. Ever since that night he'd had the private conversation with Vita, it was as if he progressively saw more and more threats in the world around us.

Something beyond what I knew was amiss, and I was determined to get the answer.

At lunch, I brought it up in front of the group, hoping the pressure of multiple pairs of eyes would make him relent.

I was given my opportunity when Vita, whom he was sitting up against, accidentally singed herself on the fire. Somin started going into a fuss about how she should be more careful before slowly silencing himself, realizing the rest of us were present.

"Okay, that's enough," I said. "I want to know what the hell's been going on with you Somin, and I want to know now. You've been nonstop jittery for almost a week, and it's really tiring to deal with."

He got over his shocked look quickly, somehow turning it into a mild glare. He took a bite out of his fish as he responded.

"No I haven't," he defended. "Not on-edge, just a little worried. We're stuck up here, if you haven't noticed."

"We're leaving in three days," I reminded him. "But you've only been getting more and more scared of whatever's bugging you."

"Nothing's bugging me," he defended himself, rolling his eyes. "You're overreacting."

" _I'm_ over—"

A soft glare from Vita towards me, as if telling me gently to stop, cut off my words. 'I'll talk with him later' or some other statement of the sort was conveyed solely through her eyes.

I grumbled something edgewise before puncturing a hole in the extremely sour Nomel Berry before me. Two days before, I seemed to figure out I had claws, if very tiny. It honestly felt extremely unnatural to sheathe and unsheathe them. That, however, only prompted me to do it for hours out of pure curiosity. It still held its ability to be fascinating, and sometimes I even found myself doing it subconsciously in boredom.

While Somin's larger claws were more effective at poking holes in fruit to allow their juices to flow, mine did the job, if inefficiently. I sucked the Berry of its bitter taste before raising my head back up.

Somin was digging through my backpack, and in the process, displaced a few items. They clattered to the ground carelessly.

I huffed. "Sure as hell hope you're going to put everything back," I spitefully spoke, having supervised organization of the contents of the bag two days before.

"Don't worry your little self about it," he responded, not even giving me the pleasure of a head turn. I was about to start yelling some angry retort when he froze.

He took what he was looking for originally, a Sitrus Berry, and stuffed it in his mane. Yet, he stared oddly into the bag, transfixed by what he found.

"What's this for?" he asked, removing it and allowing for us all to see what had so easily caught his attention.

"Oh no," Axle said dreadfully, drawing the eyes in the room. He rested his front paws on top of his head in a gesture of submission.

I got a good look at what Somin was holding. It was nothing more than a sky blue-tinted, disc-like object, a few words scribbled on the front.

"Come on," the Swampert groaned. "Do we have to use it? Can't we just… Throw it away?"

I couldn't believe I'd completely forgotten about it. So much had happened over the last two weeks, making the object's presence completely slip from all of our minds.

"Blizzard," Somin sighed. "Sorry buddy, we gotta."

The TM I'd bought all the way back in Lavaridge. I'd meant to teach Axle the move Blizzard using it, learning from the mistake we'd had from our battle against Drayden in having no Ice Moves in our arsenal, but didn't want to ruin the Lavaridge vacation with its effects.

"Can't we wait at least? Why use it now?"

"Axle," Vita said soothingly, sliding next to the terrified Swampert. "There's going to be a lot of trouble coming up. We could need it in the future…"

I felt quite antagonistic. Being a trainer meant sometimes, for the good of strategy, TM's had to be used. Sadly, that meant the obnoxious side-effects associated with their use would have to be dealt with. Whenever I'd been forced to use one, the Pokémon target would be incapacitated for at least twelve hours, followed by a full day of extreme nausea. With all the advances of science, I was surprised no one had ever fixed them to be more user-friendly. Of course, it was advised to keep Pokémon in their Pokéballs during that time, but we didn't have that luxury.

Axle whimpered, an odd sight for a creature his size. He'd been more or less the recipient of more than half the TM's I bought, considering his type matchup allowed for an extremely wide variety of moves to be learned. As a result, he was the centerpiece of most strategies I'd used as a trainer.

"Hey," Vita continued addressing the reluctant Swampert. "I'll do all the food gathering tomorrow with Victor. You can rest by the fire all you want. We have a lot of Sitrus for you. That sound okay?"

Somin seemed troubled by Vita's offering of labor, but she ignored him. Axle looked into her eyes fearfully. It made me remember the fact that Vita had acted as a parental figure for him after he hatched, no one else present to assume the motherly role.

Her reassuring gaze was enough to placate the Swampert enough for him to nod his head solemnly. Silently, he stood, walked over, and layed down on the bed. He didn't object as Somin attached the item to his forehead with the connected elastic band.

"Ready?" the Zoroark asked. When Axle gave him confirmation, Somin nodded reassuringly, pressing the button on the center of the disc.

Instantly, the Swampert was unresponsive and unconscious, slumping forward, closer to the fire.

I sighed unhappily. At least I wasn't the one to have to do the honors this time around.

Hours passed with light conversation. A blizzard had been progressively forming outside for most of the day, now to the point it would be miserable if we were to step outside. We simply huddled by the fire and shared stories we'd all already heard a million times.

Dinner passed, and without Axle to initiate conversations, as he usually did, it was spent in silence. We decided then and there we'd try to get some sleep, hoping to rid ourselves of the extremely long day.

Jet excused himself, apparently having become nocturnal in the week past. He grabbed his usual fish and Aspear berry, leaving the four of us behind with an unconscious Swampert.

At this point, we'd all gotten used to Jet's antics, and left him to his business. We all piled on around Axle's sleeping form, this night colder than most as a result of the storm. I was eventually submerged fully in the pile, this time between Somin and Vita.

I just tried shutting my eyes, hoping all the turbulent thoughts rushing through my head would disappear with rest…

* * *

"Oh, why now?" Mew spoke to herself as she watched Jet fly into the forest. "Oh no… Everything's gonna happen all at once. I…"

She flew around back and forth, counting the seconds to catastrophe.

"Five problems to deal with at once… Why does it all have to happen at the same time? I can't trust Victor to protect Ray all on his own…"

She rubbed her face furiously.

"I promised myself I wouldn't intervene, but I'm gonna have to… I'll see if I can delay the three of them from getting here until everyone can get back together."

With that, she narrowed her eyes and flew off, preparing a scenario to stop one of the three incoming threats. Maybe, if she delayed them long enough from arriving, the team would have enough time to recover from the, as Ray would put it, shitstorm they were about to fly themselves into, all separated from one another.

* * *

"Uuuhh… Oh Ar-"

I was woken up with the outburst, muffled as best as possible by the one who'd spoken the words.

Vita was now fully awake, was slithering uncomfortably to and fro. A few seconds passed before she groaned fearfully.

"S-somin, wake up, wake up," she rushed to say.

I shut my eyes tight, hoping to trick the two into thinking I was still asleep. I would want to hear what happened next.

"Yuh… Whut?" the Zoroark mumbled in response.

"I…" Vita said. Lack of visibility prevented me from stealing a peek at her facial expression. Something was obviously wrong.

"Huh? Oh! Oh… Oh holy shit holy shit holy shit… Do you…?"

No words were exchanged as Vita slowly departed the bed. I made sure to keep up the act of unconsciousness. The pair was conversing quietly near the cave entrance when I dared steal a glance. Somin had both of his paws on the Serperior's upper half, staring straight into her eyes fearfully.

He took a glance outside, then back into the cave. I shut my eyes again as his stare passed over me.

"Come on… I know a place," he said hurriedly, ushering the Serperior out of the cave and into the blizzard. They were gone a few seconds later.

 _Oh no… Is something wrong? There has to be_.

I stood up worriedly and trotted to the entrance of the cave. A quick glance outside revealed almost nothing was visible. The snow was coming down hard, reducing the effectiveness of my night-vision.

I growled to myself, turning back into the cave. Worried, I promptly woke Victor, the only responsive creature left with me.

"Huh? What's up Ray?" the Durant asked me when he was aware of his surroundings.

"Something's wrong… Really wrong… Vita and Somin just left like something bad was about to happen."

"What?" he took a look around the cave. "You sure it wasn't just a walk they're taking?"

"In this weather? No, something really, really bad's going on… Somin was worried."

"He's _been_ worried… All the time over the last few days… What do you want us to do? Go out and check?"

"Yeah!" I responded. "Trust me Vic, if you were up, you'd notice it too…"

The Durant sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. "Fine," he said simply, getting up. "You think Axle'll be fine on his own?"

"He's okay… I doubt anything's going to come by this late." I stepped towards the entrance of the cave. "Let's go find them."

"Right," Victor responded lazily. When he caught up with me, we stepped out into the harsh night.

* * *

"An hour… That's all I could give them? Seriously? You're losing your touch, Mew…"

The legendary, whispering to herself, stared down at the departing Durant and Zorua worriedly. Her breathing got heavy.

"Who am I kidding? He's a Durant! There's no way, even with the type advantage…"

She bit her lip.

"Somin was stupid to take her out in a blizzard like this… I need to watch over them now."

She sent a longing glance down towards the Durant.

"I'm trusting him with you. Keep him safe, Victor. Please."

* * *

"Do you have any idea where we're going?" Victor asked in protest as I crossed the river, the ice covered with a fresh coat of snow.

"Their tracks are here… We'll find them…"

Victor started walking across the river, retracing my steps. We both froze, though, when a loud crack sounded all around us.

Sprouting from Victor were multiple, branching cracks in the ice, breaking even the layer of snow above them. The weight of the blizzard must have weakened the ice.

"Oh jeez," I said to myself, staring dead into the Durant's eyes. We stayed speechless afterwards.

Tentatively, he took a small step forward, then another, attempting to spread his weight as much as possible.

A few tension-filled seconds later, he took the final few baby steps to stand on the riverbank. The ice below him groaned with the lack of weight.

"Ray, I know this is important to you, I really do," Victor spoke, sighing… "But maybe we should just go upriver, cross, and head back to the cave. Somin's the strongest on the team, and Vita's not far behind… I'm sure they'll be fine."

"I…" I responded and trailed off. "If something's wrong, I want to know about it. I'm gonna go find them, you can stay behind if you want… I won't judge you either way…"

With that, I walked away, in the direction the Zoroark's and Serperior's trail dictated they went. I was aware of a sigh from Victor as he followed me. It wasn't as if the Durant could abandon me, anyways.

The gale whipped mercilessly against my face as we continued on, following a trail parallel to the river. While Somin's footprints in the snow were harder to follow, Vita's proved easy, considering her body shape. In her wake was nothing more than a line of matted snow.

At one point, the trail wove into the forest. We'd been walking for maybe a minute and a half by the time it happened. Afterwards, everything started going wrong.

"Feral trails… Damn it," I muttered, looking around. Interwoven with our target's path were the many footsteps of ferals, previously littering the snow. I turned to Victor behind me, staring at me concernedly.

"You know, Ray… You wanted them to talk… They probably wanted some privacy to have a conversation with one another…"

By then, I'd completely lost the trail, having taken a wrong turn into the darkness of the forest. I knew from which way we came, so we would be able to return without issue.

"Let's go back to the fire," Victor encouraged. "It's freezing out here, and I don't much appreciate it… I'm sure they'll be absolutely fine… They can take care of themselves…"

I stopped, turning to give a pleading glance at the Durant. Contradictions started popping up in my mind… I was dragging him through all this against his will, and out of pure paranoia. True, I was worried about what I had overheard, but I was sure, with all we'd been through together, both Somin and Vita would come to me with a problem.

Or would they? Did they no longer see me as the trainer, as someone they could trust to confide their concerns? What could I do to fix them now? Hell, even my own view of myself as the figure of authority was disappearing…

Panicked thoughts passed through my head next. What if they were abandoning us? Was the pressure of seeing me like this too much? Were they running away together?

No… I was just being paranoid. Somin and I had been best friends for years, and Vita was much too sensible to ever do something so radical. I gave a longing glance in the direction I imagined they were, and looked back towards Victor.

I conceded, wordlessly padding back towards him, tail instinctively in between my legs. I muttered some sort of apology, to which he responded with a happy, "That's okay!"

At least he wasn't angry… Yet, I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen him as such. Was he physically capable of conjuring the emotion?

Head hanging low, I marched back the way we came, the cold finally catching up to me. Adrenaline had been my fuel before, allowing me to ignore the snow piling in my fur and the aching cold it brought.

What in the world was wrong with me? Just when I thought I was over the emotional effects of the transformation, I discover my mental state is even worse off… I was frustrated, to say the least, given no ideas whatsoever of how to fix myself.

I was falling apart, and tried desperately to hide it by focusing on trivial matters, such as learning to walk. Just thinking about it was demeaning beyond belief. How pitiful was I? Even before Mew's intervention, I'd been absolutely useless, not to mention a total emotional wreck. All I ever did was dwell on the misfortunes of the past, and as soon as I deemed myself 'over' one, another would simply appear in its place.

My life wasn't the problem, as I'd blamed everything on in the past. Not the team, not Mew, and not my parents. No one configured how I received and comprehended information, and if I wanted to make any real change in my life, I would have to change myself, first.

Nothing was wrong with my life besides myself. I was the catalyst for everything, and not just events as they applied to me, either. No, everyone's misfortune, it was all because of me. Everyone would have been happier if I never became a trainer. Maybe, one day, I would have lived up to my parents' wishes and gotten a 'real' profession. Maybe the team would be living happily with their families or other trainers…

Maybe Sierra wouldn't have died needlessly, at my own fault.

 _Arceus, damn it… How did I get so deep in that train of thought? I need to stop this, now…_

I sniffed back the tears rapidly forming so Victor wouldn't be able to notice them… I was the team leader, and always would be, for as long as I could possibly affirm my stature. I, not unlike conjuring illusions, once more put up my veil of self-confidence.

Only to have it shattered seconds later with one of the biggest surprises I'd ever encountered.

Searing pain shot through my right, hind leg, feeling akin to having the skin peeled off with no warning whatsoever. I screamed, knocked aside by whatever had sliced me. I stayed on the ground where I was, trying to get my bearings in between agonizing bursts of fire from my thigh.

Seconds later, a blunt force careened into my side, knocking me many feet away. Once at rest, I coughed a few times through the pain, and tried to shakily stand, keeping as much weight off of my injured leg as possible.

I opened my eyes long enough to see Victor already deep in combat with a white behemoth, easily ten times his height. Dirty and scruffy snow-colored fur adorned the beast, complemented with a blue icicle, seemingly hanging from the creature's nose.

 _Beartic…_

Jet had described Mew's assault on another of the same species almost a week prior. I never guessed we would encounter another so soon after the last.

A quick look at my harmed leg revealed it to have been dealt considerable thigh was torn open, a large gash running horizontal along it. It gushed steadily with blood.

The second attack, being the one that knocked me away, I presumed was Victor. He seemed to have seen the Beartic coming and acted accordingly to protect me.

Trying to hold back a whimper, I observed the battle with trepidation.

Victor and the Beartic had ceased in their first volley of vicious attacks, and circled around one another, sizing the other up. Victor opened and closed his mandibles in an intimidating manner, while the Beartic let out a feral roar, preparing its claws for the dismemberment of the Durant.

Trainer instinct, for whatever reason, kicked in right then, resulting in a command to Victor.

"Iron Head straight to the leg! Make sure to dodge its claws, and keep going until it's low enough to the ground for the kill."

Victor turned his head for a fraction of a second to stare at me worriedly. He seemed less attentive to my command as he did fear for the fact I was present.

He complied with my commands, though, and rushed forward, ducking under a swipe of the Beartic's claws. Before he could reach his target, however, the monster sidestepped, taking its leg out of the Durant's destructive path. Instead, a blow straight to the face was what met the Durant.

"Shit…" I muttered. The creature, even if feral, was smarter than I'd imagined.

"Okay, uhh…" I called, trying to formulate a plan while Victor recovered. The Beartic, roaring, dashed forwards in a counterattack.

"Dig!" I called out of pure desperation, teetering back and forth between functioning legs. I knew, deep down, I should have been letting Victor handle the fighting while I found some place to hide, but I stopped myself for two reasons. One, my attempted escape would alert the Beartic to my presence, and without a very efficient method of running, it would surely catch me. Second, I couldn't hope to move, frozen in place by fear.

Victor heeded my command a second time, burrowing through the snow and underground as the Beartic rushed overhead. I would congratulate myself in my head for a successful dodge if it weren't for the fact that, without a target, the Beartic's attention turned towards the closest living being.

Me…

Growling, it began charging, just as it had done previously. I tried scooting away, but was nowhere near fast enough to escape.

Victor saved me once again, however, exploding from the dirt in a magnificent show of silver. His head glowed, already charged to attack with Iron Head once more. He hit the Beartic directly in the gut, stopping the behemoth in its tracks.

As the Durant landed however, ready to attack once more, he wasn't fast enough to dodge the Beartic's teetering balance. Before he could jump at the ice-type with another super-effective move, it suddenly lurched forward in a vain attempt at an attack.

Of course, the feeble swipe of the creature's claws missed Victor entirely, but he did not escape unharmed. In a panic, the Beartic grabbed hold of one of Victor's forelegs with its free claw, succeeding in maintaining a successful grip.

In fact, that grip proved beyond beneficial in the Beartic's favor. Without any strategy whatsoever, it lifted the Durant in the air and flung him about, spinning his, by comparison, much smaller body without effort.

It ended up, rather than let the Durant go, slam it straight into the ground. Only then was Victor able to chomp his mandibles around the beast's arm. He made sure to give the attack enough force to puncture the skin entirely. Nothing stopped the metal appendages from touching one another once more, this time embedded into either side of the Beartic's paw.

It howled, both from pain and rage, trying to shake Victor off. His grip was unrelenting, however. By the time he ended up letting go for the sake of self-preservation, blood flowed from either side of the wound profusely. For good reason, too. One could look into one side of the gaping hole and see out the other without issue.

Victor was breathing heavily as he waited for an opportune moment to strike once more. I decided to give a brief glance to gauge his condition.

He wasn't doing too well… By the shape of the leg the Beartic had grabbed hold of, accompanied by the fact no weight was pressed on the limb whatsoever, I was led to the conclusion it was broken, and quite strongly at that.

"A-are you okay to keep going, Vic?" I asked fearfully, raising my voice to rise above the Beartic's agonized screams.

He turned towards me, shocked. That expression quickly developed into one of the first angry faces I'd ever seen the Durant wear. The fact his mandibles were tinted red assisted his intimidation greatly.

"What the are you still doing here!? Go see if Axle can help! Jet, too, if he's back at the cave… Just… Anyone! Go, now!"

He hardly dodged a blind slam from the Beartic. With the Durant out of sight, it turned its attention back towards me.

What did I do, with that bloodthirsty gaze meeting my own? I cowered, and listened to the Durant's instructions out of pure instinct. Of course, nothing but guilt filled my system with the decision, but what else was I to do, act as a distraction? I was nothing but an impediment, and obstacle to the battle at hand.

So, I turned and ran as quickly as I could manage… Back towards the cave. I didn't look back as I heard the Beartic's heavy footfalls chase me, nor did I watch as the sound of Victor's next attack collided with the beast, derailing it from its path towards me.

I simply ran, trying not to use my right hind leg as much as possible, which proved impossible relatively quickly. I grit my teeth and continued, no longer caring about the agony I was feeling. Cowardly fear was my only drive to get back.

The cave was in sight now. I could see the bend in the river approaching… Axle… He would be my first priority… It'd been nearly twelve hours… Maybe, just maybe, even with the nausea I was sure he'd be feeling, he would be able to help.

I rounded the bend, huffing and puffing, running faster than I'd ever ran with this new body. Now, it was just a matter of crossing the river, sprinting up the hill, and waking the Swampert, hopefully accompanied by Jet.

I took a few steps atop where the ice was covered by snow, however, and a single sound shut down my thought process.

' _CRREE-SNAP!'_

I was only able to let out a yelp as the ice completely broke apart below me, leaving me to nothing but gravity's mercy. I was fully taken by the river in less than a second.

Despite my ability to now run, the second time the river had caught me didn't prove I'd become any more proficient in swimming. The water, exponentially colder as compared to the last time, accepted me into its depths and wouldn't let go.

It grabbed hold of my fur, my legs, anything it could get a hold on to drag me deeper. I flailed, the pain in my hind leg now amounting to absolutely nothing. All I accomplished, perhaps, were a few small splashes…

No one was here to save me this time, however. At least last time, Somin was right by me, and it was by pure luck Vita had been there as well. Regardless, the Zoroark would have rescued me if necessary.

I kicked and turned in the dark depths, but it seemed the added weight of the water in my fur was working to my detriment. The cold was rapidly removing any energy I had left in my limbs as I only grew further and further away from the surface.

I'd heard a saying, years before, that when someone drowns, there's a brief moment of euphoria, seconds before consciousness is lost, in which all is well in the world. This, of course, comes after the excruciatingly painful process of inhaling water, which is what I ended up having to deal with as my oxygen store was slowly depleted completely.

I writhed a final time, feeling no such euphoria as I gave up… My adventure was finally ov—

A hand grabbed the fur on the back of my neck and dragged me upwards. By then, I had no sense as to what was happening, so I simply went limp as the creature continued in its attempts at rescue.

Much to my surprise, I eventually did break the surface of the water, and proceeded to cough and hack, despite my lung's disapproval.

I was slowly dragged back to shore by my unknown savior, seemingly having jumped into the water after me. Whatever it was, it boasted a small size, maybe just as large as I, considering anything larger would just fish me out of the freezing depths.

When we reached the bank and I was safely in the snow, I proceeded to take some personal time in order to retch and puke every bit of water I had within my system onto the ground. This went on for a solid thirty seconds without respite, and when it was over, the cold finally started setting in.

Instantly tired and feeling about the worst I'd ever felt, I curled up into a ball to the best of my ability and whimpered pitifully to myself.

"Y-y-y-you o-kay?" a female voice asked me in between what sounded like shivers. If anything, she was just as cold as I, having been in the water as well, and now faced with the outside world.

I recognized the voice though, and shivering out of pure lack of any warmth in my system, turned, shocked, towards her…

"Wh-what the h-h-hell ar-are you do-do-doing heeee-ere?" I barely forced out between the chattering of my teeth.

Misa, that cursed Axew, sat before me, hugging her legs to retain as much warmth as possible. I'd say, with the type disadvantage to the cold, she was just as cold as I, even without fur to retain the goddamned water still freezing me to the core.

"Y-y-ou're w-w-w-welc-ome," she responded spitefully, sending me the harshest glare she could muster. She softened, however, when reminded of the predicament both of us were in.

We would both die without getting warm, and fast. As much as it was horrible to say, I would have much rather drowned than freeze to death. My mind didn't even comprehend the fact she'd saved me.

I breathed, in and out, hoping to calm how fast my body functioned as a result of the panic.

"W-w-we need to g-go," she spoke out of nowhere. "M-more m-m-monsters comiiiiiiing."

I couldn't muster up the strength to send her a stupid stare. She'd said the exact same thing the last time, and while the Beartic Jet had described surely existed, I wasn't ready to believe her.

No further doubt was required, however, as a strangely familiar-yet-unfamiliar male voice was heard to the left. How many more surprises would there be in the same night?

"Well… What do we have here?"

I turned my head at lightning speeds to see the creature talking, and gawked at what I found… Three figures stood before me. All human, I realized instantly.. Multiple ice-type Pokemon of varying sizes and shapes floated and stood behind them.

"Hatchlings, obviously…" a second figure, female, said as if to spite the first. She realized the state we were in however, and changed her attitude very quickly. "Were they in the water? Oh no… We have towels, right? They'll freeze to death!"

"Need I remind you where we are? Keep your guards up… We've arrived," the third and final figure, a gruff male, spoke, turning to look up towards the cave… "Remember the plan," he said, before handing the second figure a large object. "There's spare clothes in there… After you're done, leave them to Altaria and check out the cave. He's here… I can feel it."

The third figure, seemingly the leader, after finished speaking, grabbed a Pokéball off of his belt and released its contents in a brilliant flash of white. For a second, as I got over the initial shock of seeing these three, familiar humans, here of all places, I forgot about the bitter cold racking my system.

I froze. The moonlight above gave a bright shine to everything in the vicinity, and in that moment, I was in full view of who had arrived.

Brycen, Gym Leader of Icirrus City, was taking a look around the river and forest from where he stood. Drayden, the Gym Leader of Opelucid City, had just finished releasing his Altaria to do Arceus-knows-what, while the feminine figure, Skyla, my aunt and the Gym Leader of Mistralton City, looked at both myself and Misa pitifully.

"It's okay," she said to us in as soothing a tone as she could conjure. "Everything's going to be just fine."


	11. Crashing Down

**l**

 **Chapter X - Crashing Down**

* * *

No amount of words could describe the shock I felt at seeing such familiar faces, in the last place I'd expected them to be.

Skyla and Drayden were dressed in cold-weather clothing matching their usual fashion styles. Drayden's light, mauve sweater was large enough to fit his toned physique. Skyla wore a bubble jacket, magenta in color. Brycen, on the other hand, wore his usual, ceremonial garb, consisting nothing more of a patterned blue sheet draped over half his torso. I'd stopped asking myself how he survived with such clothing in the cold long ago.

Behind the trio of humans stood a partial team of four Pokémon, ones I recognized as Brycen's ice-types, including a Weavile, Cryogonal, Beartic, and Vanilluxe. Seeing he'd arrived at his destination, he released two others from the folds of his flamboyant blue outfit, a Dewgong and Walrein, their physiques not quite suitable for walking long distances.

Drayden and Skyla's respective teams, minus the former's Altaria, who he had released prior, were nowhere to be found.

Skyla stepped before me, proceeding to reach down tentatively with a spare shirt she'd been given by Drayden, in hopes to dry me off.

If I was being honest with myself, I should have predicted this scenario at one point or another and been prepared to deal with it. I was surely a prize to be won after all that's had happened. It was only a matter of time before someone was bound to find me.

The Pokénav… I was such an idiot. Some part of me wanted to keep the device, despite suspicions of Skyla's ability to trace the call she'd placed… I led them right to us. Somin should have been allowed to destroy it without our intervention.

Now, what was I to do? As I saw it, Victor would have a tough time defeating the Beartic in combat, Axle was completely out of commission, Jet was gone, and Vita, along with Somin, were dealing with whatever unknown problems they were facing.

That meant I was left to face three Gym Leaders and their teams of over-powered Pokémon with only myself and my non-existent combat experience, accompanied only by a very limited Axew. Not to mention we were both in the process of freezing to death from our impromptu dip in the river. Plus, as I was gruesomely reminded by a shot of pain from my leg, I was seriously injured.

According to Somin, Mew should have already been, or was soon to be gone, off in her search for Arceus. That, combined with the fact I'd probably infuriated her beyond belief (her lack of communication over the last few days hadn't been promising), basically asserted the idea there would be no help coming for me.

"W-w-we're too l-late," Misa shivered beside me, having previously told me about 'monsters' on their way to our location. I ignored her, my entire focus stuck on Skyla.

Skyla's smile as she continued reaching towards me spoke of the warmth I would receive as reward for accepting her help. The fact I could feel nothing but an undying cold destroyed all desire for resistance.

Yet, I shirked back as she approached. If I let her take me, everything I'd been doing to stay together as a team over the last two weeks or so would be for naught.

Her expression disappeared, replaced by a look more of concern than anything else. She spoke a few words behind her, ones I could not hear in between shivers.

I tried moving away… Maybe if I ran back to where Victor was, he would have perhaps beaten the Beartic and could assist in our escape or retaliation.

I tried getting my legs under me, and did so successfully, grunting, I pushed away, hoping to gain momentum as I did. My body wouldn't move correctly, no matter how I willed it to. I ended up falling onto my side maybe five feet away, shivering and whining pitifully.

Skyla sighed.

"Altaria, I'll get the Axew. Can you get the Zorua?"

With that, the Mistralton Gym Leader moved on to attempt to pick up Misa. The Axew was so terrified as to provide no resistance until Skyla grabbed her and lifted her up. Squealing, Misa seemed to kick into action, chomping a jaw down around Skyla's hand. She let go with a scream of pain.

Skyla sighed at the sight of the small dragon trying to get her footing under herself once she was back on the ground, and addressed Drayden's Altaria while cradling her injured hand.

"Just… Sing to them both," she told the blue dragon as it began advancing on me, "They're not gonna let us take care of them willingly.."

 _Oh no… I have to get away._

Eyes widening, I whipped my head around towards Misa, who had finally gathered her bearings. She stared back at me with trepidation, as if debating whether or not to help me escape. It was obvious she didn't know what was about to happen.

Who could blame her? As far as I knew, her entire world was Twist Mountain. I'd doubted she'd ever come into contact with a Pokémon that knew how to use the move Sing, let alone know its effects. We would be both put to sleep in seconds if we didn't act fast.

I did all I could, and screamed a command in her direction.

"Cov-cover your ears!" I yelled, proceeding to rest my head on the ground. I placed both of my front forelegs on top of my head, folding down my large ears so they could hear almost nothing.

"W-what?" I heard Misa's response. "Why?"

By then, it was already too late. Thankfully, all I could hear was a soft hum from the Altaria's direction, and while it succeeded in making my slightly woozy, I was overall unaffected. I blinked sleepily a few times, trying to get a grasp of the attack's results on Misa.

The first notes seemed to hit her as her response to me formed. She blinked surprisedly at first contact, yet was teetering within a few seconds. From her standing position, she eventually fell hard, into the fresh snow before her feet.

"Shit," I mumbled to myself. My one chance of escaping, regardless of how annoying, was now just as incapacitated as Axle. I was truly alone now.

I faintly heard the Altaria finish her song, prompting me to uncover my ears. I was staring dead at the unconscious Axew, scowling at her stupidity.

"Hello, little one…"

I spun my head around towards the female voice addressing me. I made sure to get up off my side and scoot away to the best of my ability, leaving a small trickle of red where I'd been. I shook heavily, both in suspense and as a result of the cold.

A sky-blue dragon, wings seemingly made of pearlescent white clouds, approached me cautiously. The Altaria, Drayden's first combatant in my Gym battle against him, and the caster of the song I'd only faintly heard, approached.

Her voice held a caring tone to it, as if she was truly convinced I was as I seemed. Did the Gym Leaders not know I was a Zorua? A small ray of hope formed with the thought. They didn't know I was, in fact, the one they sought.

Cautiously, she stepped forward. She was obviously shocked after observing such a young Pokémon know how to avoid her song. Her eyes betrayed that confusion, but she wore a look of soft acceptance.

Furthermore, she looked down and saw the trail of blood tainting the snow. She grew further concerned, but said nothing.

Behind her, Skyla was staring at me dumbfoundedly. Drayden himself even gave a shred of attention, staring at us out of the corner of his eye.

"How?" I thought I heard Brycen's voice, his form directly behind the Altaria and out of visibility. "There's no way it should've known…"

 _Oh shit… It's time to go. They're gonna figure me out._

Once more, I tried getting up, shivering with every movement. Breathing ladened, I took a few steps away from the Altaria, keeping my shaky stare directly on her.

"Are you cold?" the dragon spoke in a soothing manner, voice of the same concern the Gym Leaders behind her harbored. "I can make you warm."

"L-l-leeeave u-us al-alone," I shakily replied through chattering teeth. I probably ended up making myself seem even more pitiful.

The Altaria's eyes grew even more confused. She'd gotten a taste of my ability to talk a few seconds before, sure, but was now experiencing it for herself. She continued her advance, nonetheless, a caringly condescending frown forming upon her beak.

"S-st-stay baaack," I cowered, shrinking back even further. She was extending a cloudy wing towards me to pluck me up. I could only imagine how warm it felt. I wanted to accept, of course. I was so cold, the light wind and snow making every horrid feeling so much more profound. As much as I would hate myself if I capitalized on her offer, was this suffering really worth only a few more seconds of freedom?

A sudden wave to dizziness hit me, my vision fading to black for a few seconds. A stab of pain reminded me once again of the wound I'd sustained from the Beartic. I slumped forwards, unable to walk any further.

"No," I choked out, clenching my eyes shut, incapable of movement as the gap between the Altaria and I lessened the final few inches.

 _WHOM… CRASH_

I opened my eyes at the first hints of unnatural sound filling my ears. The sight that met me, to say the very least, succeeded in invoking great astonishment.

A deathly screech was heard, turning all heads. The Altaria, about to grab me not two seconds before, was flying through the air against her own volition. She was propelled violently in the opposite direction, body writhing in apparent pain. The source? A pink, and nearly transparent wall of energy lying before me.

The forcefield seemed to bend and twist with the wind, its surface home to small jolts of psychic power, dancing across the surface in small arcs. With the lack of contact, it seemed to disappear.

"M-Mew?!" I choked out quietly, instantly recognizing the energy used to make the barrier. I turned every which way to catch a glimpse of the legendary. Her appearance should have been impossible. Wherever she was, she remained invisible. She still meant to protect me?

The Gym Leader's reactions were varied. Skyla squeaked in surprise, jumping back when the Altaria was shot in the opposite direction. Brycen stared between the dragon and me incredulously, speechless. Drayden only turned towards his Altaria, not even the smallest hints of shock touching his face, almost as if he'd been expecting retaliation.

"What the hell is that Zorua?!" Brycen exclaimed. "Did it do that?"

"Hmm…" Drayden spoke quietly, giving a quick glance around. "Mew… So, you really are here… I'd by lying if I said I'm surprised you stuck around. You _have_ been known to abandon your mistakes, after all."

His Altaria shakily stood to step beside her trainer. She didn't seem hurt, only shaken up, twitching every so often with the delayed effects of the defense.

Drayden took a look around him before turning to Brycen. He threw a few objects in the Icirrus City Gym Leader's direction.

"Change of plans," he said gruffly. "Cave, now… Get as many as you can."

Brycen caught the items, surprised they were sent in his direction. He was still reeling from what had happened to the dragon. It took him a few seconds before digesting what he'd witnessed and addressing Drayden accordingly.

"You're cocky, you know that?" the younger Gym Leader responded reluctantly. "I don't care how strong you are, you can't take her… There's no way—"

"Don't worry about it," Drayden interrupted Brycen in a no-nonsense tone. Defeated, and with no room for discussion, Brycen huffed and signaled the Weavile in his possession towards the river. In response, the Pokémon covered the surface with an Ice Beam, allowing their entire team to pass. I was unable to protest as the Gym Leader entered the cave, where he would most definitely find a sleeping Swampert, easily abductable.

"Where were we?" Drayden continued, motioning for Skyla to get behind him. She obeyed him without question.

She whispered a few, indiscernible words in his ear, prompting him to give a glance at both myself and the unconscious Misa. He shook his head as if to dismiss her statement. He then proceeded to unlatch all the balls from his belt simultaneously, allowing for his dragons to flood the area. Skyla remained as she was. In addition to the Druddigon, Haxorus, and Flygon I'd fought against in our Gym Battle, there were two extra members on his team, an Aggron and a Hydreigon. Almost every creature summoned stood considerably taller than the Gym Leader himself, causing a pit of despair to form in my stomach.

"Ignore the hatchlings," or something along those lines came out of his mouth next as he addressed his team. "We won't be able to do anything to help them until Mew is incapacitated."

The dragons remained silent, all on their guard for what was to happen next. I thought I saw the slightest glimmer of nervousness regarding the situation coming from the Flygon in particular. The Aggron and Hydreigon harbored similar expressions, turning every which way every so often tentatively. The Druddigon wore something akin to a smirk, standing at the ready next to the Haxorus, in a calm sense of contemplation.

The Altaria's stare flitted back and forth between myself and Misa, concern for our wellbeing filling her gaze.

"Now Mew," Drayden said without falter, drawing my attention back to him, "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I'm taking 'your human', as you called him in Lavaridge, back with me tonight… Whether that means you stay or leave with us is your decision. Accommodations shall be provided for both of your care, in addition to the entirety of Ray's team."

No response…

"I understand this most likely has to do with your own, personal affairs. I can respect that. However, that does not indemnify Ray of suspicion for the murder of dozens of people. We simply want to protect you, your liege, as well as your other companions, before any further harm can come from misunderstanding. No harm will come to either of you should you go quietly."

Still no response. I heard Drayden sigh.

"I'm not sure if you know this," he said solemnly, "but I'm an extremely perceptible person."

When he still received no response, he pointed to a random spot in the sky. I turned, despite feeling as if my limbs were freezing as they were, to a point high above my left shoulder. Nothing was there.

"Altaria, if you will…"

In response, and without hesitation, the blue dragon wrenched her gaze from me and fired off a hastily-charged Dragon Pulse, blue energy flying through the air at seemingly no target, directed only by Drayden's pointing.

My mouth dropped as a second, pink shield of energy appeared directly in front of the point, intercepting the attack and prompting a cloud of smoke to form in its wake.

A small, pink, floating creature materialized in the same spot when all was said and done.

" _Bravo,_ " Mew broadcasted sarcastically, allowing everyone in the vicinity to hear her words. " _What a great job you did. A-Plus."_

"You weren't going to respond," Drayden calmly defended himself, unfazed he was in the presence of a god. "If we can, I'd like to get onto more pressing matters. Mind telling me where 'your human' is?"

 _Wait… They're just going to start talking as if nothing happened? What the hell is going on?!_

I dared not speak, breaking the tension in the air. Mew seemed to be hyper-focused, and doubted the result would be pretty if I were to interrupt their conversation.

" _Right to business, are we? You're bold… Do I get a question first?_ "

She was speaking in a tantalizing manner, but Drayden answered nonetheless.

"What do you need to know about me, Mew? Ask if you must."

" _Ooh! Alrighty! Lemme think."_

The legendary put her paw to her chin before spinning around in the air in a lackadaisical manner. It didn't seem as if she cared much for what was occurring. She proceeded to ask a question, however, that succeeded in making Drayden's eyes narrow.

" _Why go aaaaaaall the way up into the mountains to find a dead trainer? Seems pretty redundant, don'tcha think?"_

It astonished me Mew kept her bubbly nature, even now. Were we not in a precarious situation, or was she really that confident in herself?

Skyla's reaction to the legendary's words was well-hidden, but I could hear a faint whimper escape her lips as she started shivering.

" _Or maybe you can tell me more about the UPF? Those nice, nice guys in Lavaridge who ransacked my human's house mentioned them. If you don't mind, I'd like to go and meet them personally, give them a little gift for what they did to him._ "

 _UPF? Was that the group stalking me? I always thought they were unnamed, but apparently not..._

"The UPF, hmm?" Drayden confirmed. "Yes, they were the ones following Ray. And, assuming you've been shadowing him for quite a while, I'm surprised you don't know more yourself."

" _I'm not stupid, Drayden. I just needed confirmation. Legendaries have been having just a teensy problem with them lately. Now I know for sure, though, they were the ones to murder my trainer, I can knock out two birds with one stone._ "

"You and I both know that's idiotic, Mew. It's a little known fact to me that the UPF is the reason legendaries are getting trainers in the first place, correct?"

Mew's expression was quick to turn sour. " _Tread lightly, Drayden."_

"Why else would such elusive beings be spotted all over the world? How many now are missing from your ranks? Four? Five?"

" _Well well, you're in the know, aren't you?_ "

"With trainers, though, you have the opportunity to hide in plain sight, as well as receive the added protection of a Pokéball. You're not the only one who had that idea. A threat you can't fight, somehow abducting the world's strongest creatures… At least four are confirmed missing from your ranks, Mew. Four of the world's most powerful creatures, gone without a trace, and we have no way of knowing whether or not that number is higher."

" _..._ "

"Where's Arceus, Mew? Was he one of them?"

The legendary, no longer in the mood for games, shot a harsh glare towards the Gym Leader as she stopped and levitated in place.

I was growing too cold to notice the conversation. My vision was growing dark.

"Why, of all trainers, choose Ray Alston? There must have been better, more stable options as a trainer, no?"

" _You're not making your situation any better."_

"No, I suppose I'm not. It's simply a curiosity both my closest confidant and I share."

The legendary began to giggle once again as Drayden spoke, floating down towards me. I provided no argument as she reached her paw out to touch the top of my head. I was too cold to care, either way, a combination of the blood loss and the freezing water rendering me shivering violently. At least her paw was warm, if only a little.

" _You're boring. Follow us again and I'll kill you._ "

I felt the buzz of the legendary's power flood me for a brief moment, initiating a teleport. I closed my eyes, ready to be whisked away, to where the team would hopefully be reunited. I had many questions, of course, and prayed the legendary would stick around long enough to answer them.

" _And, just so you know,_ " she began as I could feel the lift of teleportation ensue, " _It was my choice, and I chose him."_

…

…

Nothing happened. I did not feel reality wrapping itself around me as the sickening feeling of teleportation kicked in. I only became more frigidly cold as she removed her paw from my head tentatively. I opened my eyes after a few seconds to look up at Mew. What I saw placed amazing amounts of fear into my heart.

She looked scared… Sure, I'd seen worry on her face before, and even anxiety, but never pure fear. She narrowed her eyes as she reached down to place her other paw on me, as if she was having trouble teleporting me anywhere. The wide-eyed look she wore revealed to me she had no idea what was happening.

"W-what the hell?" I heard her say audibly, backing away from me. Drayden seemed on edge about what was going on, and was in a position to give a command to his dragons at any given time.

"Hey! What's going o-"

I turned sluggishly to see Vita alone entering the scene, freezing upon seeing the situation before her.

"V-Vita!" Skyla yelled, stuttering. "I knew you'd be here! Where's Ray?!"

Vita, after recognizing and assessing the situation, seemed to notice me laying in the snow. She rushed towards me as my vision grew only more and more black. My breathing was ragged.

"Oh no, no no no no," I could faintly hear her muttering to herself.

I couldn't retain consciousness any further. Shivering and too weak to even whine, I lost consciousness as Vita wrapped herself around me.

* * *

"He's passed out!" Vita exclaimed to Mew, trying to find a way to stop the bleeding she'd noticed in Ray's thigh. "Mew! Just get us out of here and help him!"

" _I know this is gonna sound really bad, but I can't._ "

"What?! No! Just teleport us out of here!"

" _I can't_!" she exclaimed, betraying none of her panic outside of her voice. " _Something's wrong… Something inside Ray is rejecting me… He's didn't teleporting anywhere, no matter how hard I tried! I can't! I can't heal him too, I tried as soon as I touched him! I can't read Drayden's mind, either, can't figure out how he knows all this stuff about us and about me! It's… I can't… I'm powerless…"_

The tone of her psychic voice revealed to the Serperior the amount of fear she was feeling under her shroud of confidence. She'd obviously never experienced a situation such as the one we found ourselves in.

" _I-I can't lose him! I'll protect you both, you have to know the humans aren't here to help! Just please, please try to help him."_

Vita hardly skipped a beat before starting the process of Synthesis on the unconscious Zorua before her. Simultaneously, she blocked him entirely from the cold and squeezed enough to provide as much warmth as possible.

" _I'm gonna have to give you a hard pass, Drayden._ " Mew continued, slipping back into a laid-back façade. " _Deal sounds sweet, but it would be soooo much sweeter if you weren't full of shit."_

"I do not lie, Mew."

" _Yeah, makes a ton of sense. You're just gonna take my human, who's highly wanted by the humans for something he didn't do, and you're just gonna hide him from all of them._ "

"Those are exactly my intentions."

Skyla seemed troubled at this. "Drayden, I thought you said we were going to help clear his name!"

"I plan to, but you're naïve if you expect the public to switch conviction so rapidly. Until there's substantial evidence, that leak from the Lavaridge PD has screwed your nephew. People know he was involved."

" _Yoohoo! If you're done, we can just go. I'll let you guys be to argue like an old married couple._ "

"Right. I get off track at times. Forgive me."

Mew rolled her eyes. " _Gonna put it plain and simply, Dray. We're not going anywhere with anybody. So sorry to disappoint you._ "

"Why haven't you teleported away, Mew? Is something wrong? Records show you're always quick to run away from your issues."

" _What's that supposed to mean?_ "

"Take it as you will, and don't be afraid to leave if you're feeling too stressed by my confrontation, or the fact that Alston's Serperior is the one thing between that Zorua and death."

Mew gave a tentative glance back towards Vita. She was working furiously to help Ray. Mew harbored some sense of satisfaction in the fact that Drayden was none the wiser regarding Ray's new form, though she was still growing angrier at his overstepping bounds with his words and assertion of dominance, despite it being non-existent.

" _Drayden, I respect you for keeping up this lie for so long, but you're really starting to tick me off. I'm giving you one last chance here to quit while you're ahead._ "

"Likewise. I have the upper hand here, so I should, naturally, be the one making demands. I'm giving _you_ one last chance to succumb and come with us. I will not ask so nicely the next time."

Mew smirked as she began flying around in a forcibly lazy circle. The legendary had never been talked to in such a manner from a human. A new experience, she supposed.

" _I don't know who you think you're talking to, but…_ "

The legendary simply snapped her stubby fingers, sending a shockwave of energy in all directions to propel the dragons behind Drayden away. The wave of psychic energy passed over both him and Skyla, who had been standing in front of the row of dragons, harmlessly. A cacophony of grunts and screams could be heard as every gargantuan shape was tossed about haphazardly, before all was silent once again. None made any movements after they hit the ground.

" _My human may have had trouble fighting you, but you're just as weak as the rest. I know you're scared deep down, but use that big brain of yours to think. Did you ever really have a chance of bringing us in?_ "

Drayden, rather than say anything, motioned for Skyla to get behind him, which she did without question. She seemed to be scared enough for the both of them.

The Dragon Gym Leader shrugged off his jacket, leaving behind a simple white undershirt. Unlike a T Shirt, the straps holding the shoulders were relatively thin, leaving enough range of motion to accomplish what he desired. Drayden then rolled his neck as if stretching out.

Mew was confused, tilting her head to stare at the Gym Leader condescendingly.

He took a step forward, then another. It was as if the snow melted beneath Drayden's boots. Surely, he didn't plan on fighting the legendary himself.

Snickering, Mew, outstretched her paw, engulfed in psychic power, and clenched it. Nothing happened.

She tried again, keeping up a veil of nonchalance as the Gym Leader grew closer. Nothing happened. Why was he not collapsed?

She huffed roughly, narrowing her eyes.

" _I don't know what you're doing, but you got ten feet left before I disintegrate you._ "

Drayden crossed the said distance within a few seconds. Mew was powerless to do anything; none of her extensive powers were working on the Gym Leader.

She would go right in for the kill, then. How she'd allowed this human to insult her prowess time and time again, it was simply unacceptable. For the first time in a long time, she found herself growling, fur standing on end.

Drayden never wavered in his confidence. He stopped but a few feet from Mew, and chose to stare up at the legendary with eyes full of fire.

"Are you going to let your pride kill another one of the creatures who you've allowed to grow close to you?"

Mew snapped, lunging forward at lightning-fast speeds and infusing her tail with psychic power. When she believed to be upon the Gym Leader, she flicked her tail where his neck should've been. In a reaction sime she thought not even possible in humankind, however, the old man sidestepped the onslaught.

She wasn't aware of the Gym Leader's true capability until she felt his clenched fist make contact with her shoulder. Underestimating the attack's power, she was blown away ten feet before righting herself in the air.

That… Hurt… It actually hurt. She tried her best not to show any confusion whatsoever. Instead, she hardly had to fake as her rage only grew. She was being undermined by a creature thousands of levels beneath her. She wouldn't hold back.

She flew forwards at the speed of a jet and nearly instantly pinned the large man down with a psychic chokehold. From where she was, Vita could see the smallest of smirks form on the Gym Leader's face, despite being defenseless on the ground.

"Hey!" I heard a yell from off to the left. It seemed Brycen had just finished up in the cave, and had walked outside to see his superior in an extremely inopportune position.

He motioned for his Dewgong to fire off an attack at the legendary, but was stopped when yet another wave of psychic energy sent his entire team flying right back into the cave, leaving Brycen untouched and bewildered. Mew seemed sure they would not reappear anytime soon.

Despite the unfortunate position Drayden found himself in, he stared into Mew's eyes with unrelenting confidence.

"You're upset, Mew. I can understand that. So many extenuating circumstances have led to this point. All of this negativity, however, can be mitigated if you and your human cooperate. It's just as simple to pool our resources. With my know-how and your power, we could grind the UPF into dust. Think rationally, would you? Do you think he enjoys being subjected to a life on the run? And really, do I look like a pushover myself?"

" _Heh,_ " the legendary replied, seemingly increasing the strength of her psychic grip around Drayden's neck. " _Sounds like the words of a cornered kit. What made you think you were any match for me?_ "

All sense of lightheartedness was gone from her voice. Her status as a respected legendary creature had been challenged by a simple human. It was important she put on a show as one of the most powerful creatures alive.

"I'm sure my ambition wasn't unfounded. It would make no difference if you just peered into my mind and saw for yourself, no?"

" _Gladly._ "

She'd been previously unable to read the Gym Leader's mind, a result of what she took to be a human-made device. Now that she had physical contact, however, she was just as easily able to slip past his skull and infiltrate his mind.

Fire.

White, hot, fire.

It was everywhere. It was blinding.

She couldn't take it. Never before had the contents of a human's mind been so chaotic, yet so clear as to create a perfect way to disorient the legendary. Mew squeaked, now unable to see in the wake of the magnificent fire she'd seen in the Gym Leader's mind.

Afterward, everything was silent. Her vision began to clear as she tried sorting out the chaos that'd spread to her own mind. She was too discombobulated to notice until it was too late.

Drayden's arm was extended upwards towards her own face from his position on the ground. Touching her forehead and in the Gym Leader's grasp was a small, spherical-shaped object, half white and half purple. The purple half of the object was decorated with two, pink circles, sitting directly across from one another.

She felt the cold metal through her fur and knew instantly exactly what it was.

Drayden remained silent with a solemn frown as Mew's terrified screams rang about the entirety of the forest. Her entire, pink body was soon outlined in a blinding red light, originally emanating from the sphere. She was promptly absorbed into the object, her screams steadily diminishing as she disappeared altogether.

When the sound disappeared, the entire world shared Drayden's silence.

The Gym Leader sighed, letting his arms fall to his sides in a spread-eagle position of relief. He even chuckled quietly to himself a few times, sounding quite as insane as he'd made himself out to be.

 _M-Mew… Got captured?_

" _We're leaving. Now_."

Vita flicked her head around to watch Somin as he entered from the trees behind them. Next to the Zoroark was a heavily damaged Durant. He looked rough, to say the least, but looked as if he would recover with time. One of his six legs was wrenched out of place, and he seemed to be steadily leaking a blue substance from his mouth. He also sported multiple dents along his flank, evidence of the battle Somin had stayed behind to help the Durant finish.

"Brycen's in there with Axle, and Ray's bleeding! We can't leave!" she shot back, shying away from the scowl that formed on Somin's snout as a result.

Drayden's dragons were incapacitated, every single one unconscious. Likely, each of Brycen's ice-types were knocked out as well. Maybe, if Somin was able to threaten each of the Gym Leaders, they would be able to escape with the Swampert. Then again, how would they be able to transport him? He was much too heavy for Somin to carry alone.

A soft cough sounded from behind them. Skyla was slowly stepping towards Drayden, carefully surveying the scene around her. I saw Brycen, close behind, sliding down the hill towards the other two trainers.

"Holy… Your plan actually worked, Drayden…" Skyle spoke dumbfoundedly, staring at the Master Ball in Drayden's hand.

The dragon type trainer huffed in return. "You both did well… But we're not done yet."

With that, both Brycen and Skyla's stares were directed at the three of Ray's team still conscious. For a moment, Skyla stepped forward and tried addressing them.

"S-Somin," Skyla stuttered, addressing the Zoroark personally for the first time since he'd evolved Seeing the Zorua she'd come to know well, evolved and dangerous, struck her with a strange sort of trepidation. "Is Ray alrig—"

A growl from the Zoroark in question cut Ray's aunt off. She reeled back, head hanging low. His illusionary voice was soon to appear in Vita's head.

" _What the hell'd Ray do? Take a swim?"_ he said, without any hint of joking. " _Just play along. He's not Ray. Human Ray hatched his egg while we were in Lavaridge._ "

Vita hardly took the time to process the command. Mew was captured… Everyone was injured… And now, above all, three Gym Leaders, all of which she knew to some degree, were ready to take their team back to civilization.

She hardly cared. By then, the Ray's breathing had begun to become more and more shallow… All thoughts of what was going on disappeared in a state of unknowing that soon set in. She began licking the Zorua dry, unable to do much else.

Horrible nightmares were seemingly plaguing the Zorua's mind. It was to be a long night ahead.

* * *

" _You feel better after all that?_ "

"Meh, I don't really know… On one hand, seeing my parents makes me a bit more at ease, but dad was acting _weird_ the whole time, ya know?"

" _He was an oddball, wasn't he?"_ the telepathic voice chuckled. " _It was pretty funny seeing his reaction to us still being with you. It was like he thought you ditched us and were coming home to stay._ "

"He seemed angry with me. Part of why I ran away in the first place is because he was so against me getting a Pokémon when I turned ten. I guess some people are just like that, though."

" _So…?"_

"Skyla was right… I've just been demonizing my parents for no reason. People just have different opinions about this kinda stuff."

" _Eh, don't get too soft on him. I still didn't like him. Glad you didn't tell him about Jet hatching, in any case._ "

"Well, I think I feel better now," the boy said, shrugging and looking behind him. He was walking now on the outskirts of town; a heavy downpour had recently started and succeeded in soaking his entire team.

His allowed his team to catch up from behind. He'd been walking rather quickly in order to arrive at the closest Pokémon Center to the main trail leading out of town, and while most of his team could keep up, Sierra and Axle had fallen behind.

The latter, a Marshtomp, rather enjoyed the rain and hardly made any rush to keep up. The former, however, had only just evolved into a Krokorok within the last month, and still had trouble walking with her new physique.

"I can return you if you want, Sierra…"

The Krokorok paused for a moment and sent the human a foreboding look of disapproval, as if another word offering assistance would prompt her to pulverize him. The human recognized the jesting air about her and made a big show of rolling his eyes.

"Snarky, are we? If Jet grows up to be sarcastic and petty, I'm blaming you."

In reference to the newborn, the Krokorok began breaking out in laughter. It surprised Ray how much progress she'd made from the timid Sandile he'd caught her as. She was growing confident, and in that fact alone, the human found the ability to smile.

He began walking forward again, running a hand through his soaking hair to wring it out as much as he possible could. Whatever water he was able to remove was promptly replaced. He looked up at the sky frustratedly.

"I swear to Arceus… We're all gonna catch a cold and be delayed from getting back on the road, aren't we?"

" _I wouldn't doubt it._ "

"Sorry, guys. Didn't think it would be raining this hard. If I see a cab I'll call one."

"Vine… Ser, Servine."

"MARSH!"

A squeal was heard, prompting the human to turn around. Instead of finding the source, however, he found himself on the receiving end of a strong geyser of water. He was pushed back until he gathered my bearings, but by then, it'd stopped.

"Axle!" the human yelled, however uselessly. The damage had already been done, and it wasn't as if the Marshtomp was able to soak his clothes further.

Vita was laughing hysterically. Axle was looking between the human and her, mouth agape and fumbling for words.

"Ah jeez. You're all horrible, you know that?"

" _We pride ourselves on it._ "

The human was about to turn and give a sarcastic response to the Zorua's sass when he found himself swamped once again in water.

However, the wave that'd engulfed him was not from his team. A passing van, moving at a rather quick pace, had kicked up water in its wake.

"Asshole," the boy mumbled under his breath as he noticed something odd.

As if the driver had heard his quiet insult, the brake lights lit, shining red through the drops of rain that only seemed to intensify as the van stopped a few dozen feet away.

"Guys, I don't like the look of this. Be on guard."

For safety's sake, the boy reached into his pocket for the survival knife he kept on his person.

The passenger-side door opened and a man stepped out. The boy took a look at what the man was wearing, a uniform burned into his memory for many years to com. A long, black stripe ran down the outer edges of a gray trenchcoat, closed over a dark blue dress shirt.

The boy knew something was wrong, only affirmed when the man revealed he was holding a Pokéball. The boy was quick to call out a command.

"Guys, get ready for a fight. We don't know what this guy wants."

He was shocked to observe, however, as a red beam, easily visible despite the dreary scene, shoot from the device and connect with none other than Somin. The Zorua let out a yell of surprise as his body was engulfed in the same, red outline before being retracted into the ball.

The human was quick to grope all the balls on his belt. One was missing.

"How did y-"

The man began approaching as he hooked Somin's ball on his own belt. Simultaneously, the sliding door of the van opened to reveal a few fully evolved Pokémon. A Mightyena and an Alakazam were among them, and while three remained by the car, those two stepped forward with the man.

"Axle, Sierra, the Mightyena," the boy commanded his team as the gap between the two opposing sides decreased. "Vita, try the Alakazam. I'll see if I ca-"

A flash of white threw the trainer off. He shielded his eyes as it grew in intensity. He knew it came from the opposing side, but was otherwise unaware as to its cause. A whooshing sound, not unlike the passage of wind, accompanied the light. A few moments passed before the nova began to fade, after which the boy could look back on the scene with an only-growing sense of fear.

The Alakazam had Mega Evolved. Instead of advance further it levitated above the ground in a sitting position reminiscent of meditation. This was only the second time the boy had ever seen Mega Evolution in his life as a trainer.

He recognized a move brewing as the Pokémon's eyes began to grow a bluish purple. His breath hitched.

No consequence was apparent. As the boy looked around in the aftermath, he could see nothing had changed. Yet, that wasn't comforting.

Absolutely nothing had changed, as in, no movements had been made by his teammates to attack. They were frozen in place. The boy began choking on his words.

"Return the Marshtomp."

"W-Why are y-you d-"

"Do as I say."

The boy was in no place to argue. With fumbling, shaky hands, he slowly reached for Axle's Pokéball. Swallowing, and praying for the best, he returned the Marshtomp in a beam of red light.

"Roll the Pokéball to me."

"W-What?! No!"

The man was now in full view. He was easily in his mid-thirties, and wore a no-nonsense look on his thin, bearded face. Narrowing his eyes, he snapped his fingers.

Vita and Sierra, still frozen, were moved telekinetically over towards the man. At his command, the Mightyena opened its jaws and bit down on Vita as she was levitated within range. The Servine's screams of pain rang out amongst the empty street.

"STOP!"

The Mightyena stopped for a moment.

"The Marshtomp's Pokéball."

"Why are you doing this?!"

Vita screamed again as the Mightyena bit into her side. Green blood began to leak down her reptilian skin.

The boy let his eyes widen further as his lungs heaved. He felt his nose itch as tears welled up in his eyes.

"HELP!" he screamed out around him. It seemed nobody heard him.

"You're not the only one with an illusionist," the man said calmly, pointing back behind him. One of the Pokémon who had stayed next to the van was a Zoroark. It smirked menacingly upon being referenced.

The boy breathed heavily as his Servine's screams only grew in intensity. Biting his upper lip to the point it bled, he indignantly followed the man's command. Axle's Pokéball skid across the wet concrete.

"See? That wasn't so hard, was it?" the opposing man said as Vita and Sierra were rotated within the air to face the boy. Their faces shone with fear, the former's were wet with tears from the pain.

"What did I do?!" I screamed, helpless as my two remaining Pokémon came to a rest.

"You disobeyed."

"What?! What are you talking about?! Who are you?!"

The man smiled ever so slightly in the boy's hysterical confusion. Without another word, he reached into his trenchcoat and drew a mat black pistol.

"Waitwaitwaitwait!" the boy yelled, raising his hands and waving them as the man seemed to toy with the firearm for a moment. "Just-... I promise not to tell anyone if you just let us go. Please!"

"Choose."

"What?!"

"I'm a terrible decisionmaker, and I was told to kill at _least_ one of em tonight, so that's where you come in."

The boy said nothing, scanning his mind to see if he recognized the man from anywhere. No memories came to mind.

"I don't-"

"Do I have to spell it out for ya? Kid, one of your Pokémon is dying tonight. Big shocker, huh? I'm lettin' you choose which one, though. I'm not a total monster."

"L-look. What do you want? Money? I have money, my dad's the CEO of-"

"God, you _do_ need to be taught a lesson. You're wasting my time, you know that?"

This was a dream. A very, very bad dream. There was no way everything could go wrong this quickly. He didn't even know why he was being attacked!

The man actually wanted him to choose which of his teammates lived and which died? What kind of sick choice was that? He wasn't serious, right?

I needed to make a plan. Was there any way out of this? That Alakazam looked like it had infinite endurance as it held Vita and Sierra in place. Could he use any of their abilities to my advantage here? The only ranged moves the two knew between them were Leaf Tornado and Mud Slap. Would it be enough to disorient the Alakazam long enough to escape?

Who was he kidding? It was a Mega! The only chance he had was talking the man out of doing anything rash, or waiting long enough for the Zoroark's illusion to fall.

So, he tried stalling with every bit of improvisational skill he could harbor.

"I… I still don't understand."

"This gun here, y'know, the one I'm waving around right now?" the man replied sarcastically, moving his hand around a bit as if to remind me he was in possession of the firearm. "I'm gonna let you choose a 'mon that I won't shoot with it, let you keep it, and be on my merry way. As far as the rest go, the Zorua's mine, the Marshtomp's mine, and whichever one you let die belongs to Giratina."

Whoever the man was, he didn't know the boy had a baby Rufflet in a fifth Pokéball on his belt. He couldn't possibly use that to his advantage, the hatchling had hardly opened its eyes.

"I… I don't understand why. I haven't done anything!"

"I already told you. You disobeyed."

"Disobeyed who?!"

Both Vita and Sierra were crying now, the latter was letting out scared noises akin to whimpers. We were powerless. The man remained silent as a sick smile grew.

"Disobeyed wh-"

My yell was cut short as Vita yelled once again, this time in determination. She'd conjured a Leaf Tornado and sent it in the direction of the Alakazam. In surprise, the Mega Evolution lost control of the Servine and Krokorok both.

"Sierra!" I called out, recognizing the break in concentration. "Foul Play the Alakazam, now! Vita, take the Mightye-"

 _BANG! BANG!_

Two shots rang out as the man fired them into the air. Everyone froze once again as he lowered the gun towards the boy.

"Now, you two can't be selfish," he addressed my Pokémon. "Would you rather it be your trainer, or one of you?"

The Mightyena jumped to action in that moment, grabbing Vita's entire body in its gaping jaws. It seemed to have grown a taste for the Servine.

It simply carried her back to the armed man. He grimaced for the first time since the boy had met him. Reaching out, he grabbed the nearby Krokorok by the back of the neck and wrenched her from her feet. The boy said nothing as the man forced her to her knees directly behind where the Mightyena held the Servine's head.

"Or I could just kill them both," he said angrily, pushing the barrel of the gun against the back of the Krokorok head. The boy stepped forward apprehensively in an instinctive attempt to rectify the situation.

"Choose," the man reiterated, digging the gun further into the base of Sierra's skull. He no longer seemed amused. "Choose, or I'll kill them both."

The boy's chest heaved as he tried making another plan. If it ended as badly as the last one, there was no guarantee it would end without death.

"Three."

 _He's counting?! NO! I have to figure something out!_

"Two."

 _Think, idiot! What would Skyla do?! What am I gonna do!_

He gave another look at his team members. Both sets of eyes were closed. Sierra tried displaying some confidence by keeping back tears. Vita was speaking words to herself as if the words were her last. The boy looked at them forlornly. He couldn't choose between them!

 _He's bluffing! He's gotta be!_

"One."

 _I… I have to._

"N-"

"VITA!"

There was no reason behind the decision, no thought into the choice. He'd simply chosen, and let his heart decide what he himself could not.

Ray could think no longer, however, and hadn't breathed for the entirety of the slow countdown. He closed his eyes and dropped to his knees, now feeling too nauseous to stand. Seconds passed with nothing occurring.

"Open your eyes."

Ray did so tentatively. One glance at his two remaining team members, however, made him look away and begin to cry.

They both looked shocked, hurt even more so. The pain in their eyes just then relayed to him that he'd made the wrong decision. Whether or not they both would have rather died together than forcing him to choose one was up for debate, but Ray was scared to face them nonetheless.

Ray felt as a psychic influence took hold of his body. His face was forced to turn and watch the events to follow.

He had to watch as the man wordlessly wrenched Sierra away from the Mightyena and Servine and force her down once again to her hands and knees. She looked towards Ray fearfully. He wanted nothing more than to break out of the psychic bonds and knock the man away.

That look of fear was the last he ever saw of his Krokorok's face before it was blown away. The bullet entered the back of her skull and went clearly through, obliterating anything in its path. Instantly killed, Sierra slumped to the floor.

Ray wanted to scream. Rather, he felt no energy to keep himself up as the psychic bonds faltered. He shut his eyes tight and slumped to the concrete as if he himself had been killed.

He thought nothing. He didn't want to think. He felt like he wanted to puke everything he could possible let out. Sierra's body still lied where it had, nothing discernable was wrong if one didn't look at her face. Vita hadn't moved an inch, and was prone on the ground herself. She was bleeding from multiple wounds inflicted by the Mightyena.

He regained full awareness as he recognized the skid of tires. The van was pulling away.

Pulling away with Somin and Axle.

Screaming and scrambling to his feet, he sprinted to chase the van as it drove away, unlatching two of the remaining balls on his belt and returning both Vita and Sierra, despite the latter having no more need for the device.

Almost instantly up to speed, the van was quick to fly down the street and out of reach. Ray didn't let himself stop, even when it seemed impossible he would ever catch up.

Yet catch up he did. He was faintly aware of a disturbance a few blocks down. A stray vehicle, nothing short of a miracle, with a sickening crash, had T-Boned the larger car. Both spun out of control, resulting in the van careening onto a nearby sidewalk and into a building on the corner.

Ray hardly felt the time pass as he finally caught up and began digging through the debris. The Mightyena and Zoroark were found, unconscious but alive. The same couldn't be said for the Alakazam, whose body he saw a distance away. It had since reverted from its Mega form.

The man was unconscious with a nasty head wound. Ray, without thinking, used all his might to wrench the driver-side door open and scavenge from the man's belt. After retrieving the two objects of his desire, he hiccuped as he turned away.

The scene was carnage, certainly, but he ran still. He gave no mind to the driver of the other vehicle, despite his gratefulness of its position in the exact time to impede upon the assailant's escape. He ran until he was out of sight, and away from the city altogether.

The rain wasn't of mind anymore.

* * *

Silence… Silent respects had to be paid. Ray reminisced on what he could have done differently that night just a few days prior.

Simultaneously, he could have done everything to change the situation, but was powerless. A different approach may have saved her life. Why he was compelled to choose his starter when faced with such a dilemma was impossible to deduce.

He blamed himself, as he thought he should.

Though, he'd had some time to think. The man had Somin's Ultra Ball initially, without any conceivable way of obtaining it. There was only one answer. The only person with access to his belt while he'd been in Black City was the owner of the house in which he'd stayed.

"I know who ordered that man to attack us."

" _What? Who?_ "

"..."

Ray looked at Somin and the remainder after the incident, standing over Sierra's hastily made grave.

"And here I was thinking he got over it all. You were right not to like him, Somin. I'm going to kill him one day."

I stood and faced my team, reborn of mind with a new conviction in life. Truly, I was now _Ray_ , a different boy that'd left home years before.

"That's a promise."

* * *

"You can't change the past, Ray… It's my fault this happened."

"You can't blame yourself, Skyla."

"I'm the one who suggested you go see your parents… They told me they were worried sick about you… I should've known better."

"..."

"Ray, maybe you should stop. My Gym is always open to you if you want to settle down…"

"I'm going to disappear for a while… Quitting is exactly what he wants me to do… It's what he's always wanted me to do. It's been almost a year since it's happened, and we've already lost to Brycen four times. I need to train."

"Training like you are right now isn't healthy, Ray! Stay where you are. Timberline, right? I'm coming to get you and bring you back here to Mistralton."

"Goodbye, Skyla."

"Ray-"

I hung up and gave a glance towards his team. It was time to go. I'd found a nice spot while on a hiking trip which was suitable for living. A year in the wilderness would undoubtedly help me clear my head.

* * *

No one spoke of it, but I knew the murder was on everyone's minds.

The pink lady tried to make me forget… The therapist as well.

I never did…

And in the end, I was vengeful. He would take a chance when it came to him. For the assailant and his father both.

* * *

 **A few things about this chapter and the story in general…**

 **I felt bad, first and foremost, about the specific attention given to certain characters above others, considering, in a cast of ten or more, Drayden, Vita, Mew, and Somin are and always have been the main focus. Drayden's team will be getting a spotlight over the next few chapters, but writing now, I regret not crafting scenarios in which I could include more of Skyla.**

 **I felt like some things were glossed over in this chapter, as opposed to other aspects receiving extreme detail. Yet, I believe I put it where it matters.**

 **The last scene was rewritten a few times. Initially, as any old readers of the story will know, the death scene was published entirely differently. However, a scene much like this was how I originally intended it to be. The emotion was necessary in order to give weight to how important of an event it was in Ray's life. Not to mention I HATED how hastily I made the other version of the death, and the quality of work really shone in how bad it really was.**

 **The introduction into it was rather abrupt as well. This scene, in particular, wasn't placed within context of the story. Simply, fever dreams being as spontaneous as they may be, it's what Ray's mind chose to show him. Reviving the guilt surrounding his inability to protect his teammates? Perhaps...**

 **Fun Fact: Any flashbacks from before his conviction for revenge will refer to Ray as 'the boy'. Being a defining moment in his life, I like to think he truly became who we see now as a result.**

 **So, with that, Act I comes to a close.**

 **I've been putting off doing responses to reviews (mainly due to the fact other chapters are cluttered enough as-is. So, I've decided that at the end of each Act, I'm going to go through and recognize each of the readers faithful enough to provide feedback or reactions! Quite honestly, reviews are my favorite part of writing this, and I'd really like to encourage anyone teetering on the edge to leave one! It doesn't have to be much, a simple reaction and a few thoughts regarding the story is more than enough.**

 **Anyways, thank-you to:**

 **ShadowCreeper5 - I thank you dearly for all you've done to help the story as I'm writing it. I, quite literally, would not have been able to do this without you.**

 **Jack The Skull - Even if you are a guest, knowing your reactions to each individual chapter helped me get an idea of whether or not what I did in each respective area was correct.**

 **AveragePichu - My most frequent reviewer, certainly (if one excludes Shadow's Beta Reading). You've helped the review counter get to where it is now, and it's nice to have simple feedback every once in awhile.**

 **XelYel - The most lengthy review can be attributed to you. I had trouble learning exactly where the 'troublesome' parts of the story were, but you surely helped in that regard. You pointed out the worst of the story, an action I can't thank you enough for.**

 **UnholyPens - I appreciate the fact you believe I'm doing well even though I'm just starting out. I feel much better knowing my writing style is detailed enough to paint a vivid picture.**

 **Aewynessa - Being an author with a decently popular story yourself, I'm glad to see you find my own up to par. I hope future chapters will entertain you thoroughly!**

 **Doreh - Another quite lengthy review. I absolutely love the fact you pointed out what was most wrong with the story so I could improve. Like Xel, many of your points helped me realize what it was that turned some viewers off and fix it accordingly.**

 **Welp, that's all for now, I believe. Until next time!**

 **END ACT I**


	12. Here We Are Again

**Let me just start off by saying how happy I am to get this chapter published… Getting Act II together has been a pretty tough haul, but I believe I've gotten it to a satisfactory degree. Regular updates will now resume, more than likely every other week. Hope you all enjoy the next arc!**

* * *

 **BEGIN ACT II**

 **Chapter XI - Here We Are Again**

* * *

"Ray, look at me… Ray? Ray! Snap out of it!"

I blinked groggily. Nothing was making sense; not this voice, not the fact I wasn't touching the ground, nothing.

"What the hell's wrong with you!? _I_ should be the one who has no clue what's going on… RAY!"

I inhaled sharply jerking my head up. Finally, the woman trying to talk to me had caught my attention.

"Oh thank goodness… I thought the fever made you brain dead for good."

I shook my head rapidly, struggling to clear it of the heavy haze blurring my thoughts. Gritting my teeth through the headache that was soon to form, I took a look around.

A black void completely surrounded me. I felt vague familiarity with this setting. It took me a few seconds to remember this was the place in which Mew had spoken with me after I died… Was I dead again?

"Oh, damnit, goddamn thing… You think you can talk, Ray? This stupid thing they have me stuck in is blocking most of my abilities."

"M-Mew? Where are you?"

"You can't see me? Great… Just great… I swear I'm gonna get Celebi to go kill the guy that invented these things."

I spun around, catching a glimpse of myself in the process. It was true Mew was nowhere to be found, but my attention was now fully on my own body. My mouth dropped as my eyes widened.

I held up my hand… My _human_ hand, eyeing each finger with incredible scrutiny. As if to make sure I wasn't simply hallucinating, I took my other hand, watching it as it went, and clasped both of them together. My fingers interlaced, making my heart flutter.

"Don't get too excited," Mew interrupted my revelry, "Since we're in your mind right now, you're obviously gonna appear as you see yourself. Guess that's not a Zorua, not yet, at least."

"Th-this…" I stuttered, turning my hand over to stare at my knuckles. How could this not be real? Even tiny intricacies, such as the wide scar on the back of my right hand, was evident. "You said this is my mind?"

"Yeah," I heard her voice respond. "Did I not tell you last ti-... Oh screw it, that's not important! You gotta help me Ray, you gotta get me outta this thing!"

"Mew, what are you talking about? C-calm down," I hypocritically responded, still marveling over the fact I was in my old body.

"Calm _down_? CALM DOWN? Ray! You have no idea what I'm going through! I'm in a Master Ball! Do you have a clue what that means?"

From then, I faintly heard her voice as if she was whispering to herself. She kept repeating the same, crazed phrases to herself, something along the lines of 'how did you let yourself get captured?'.

"You were captured?! What happened? You said I have a fever?"

She stopped for a moment to yell at me panickedly. "Yeah! Yeah! Infected and everything! Just _great_ , isn't it? You're gonna be dead sometime in the next few hours. That sound good?"

In the midst of my shocked silenced, she continued rambling to herself. "And I just find it brilliant Drayden won't let me out to try healing you again! Not that it even matters! JUST GREAT! Can't keep your soul here if you die, either! No, I'm stuck in this goddamned BALL! And then there's that _monster_ inside you that won't let my energy in, so even if I was out, I wouldn't be able to make you a new body! Especially with this stupid ass ball sucking my energy away, I'm surprised I've been talking with your for this lon-"

"MEW! Shut up! You're only making everything worse!"

I was physically shaking, the load of information she was laying on me was becoming too much.

"L-lets start f-from the beginning… Why can't you influence me? And how does that stop you from healing me?"

"I don't know! None of my extensive powers work, like teleporting and controlling and healing, that need me to send a bit of my power inside you. Yet, for whatever stupid reason, I can't. Your body is just rejecting me. Really fun."

Ignoring that last bit of sarcasm, I continued inquiring her. "And that's why you couldn't teleport me away from the Gym Leaders? Why, though, is it because I'm dark type?"

"No! I can teleport Somin, can't I? The big reason would have been if Drayden had one of his Dragons use Mean Look or something, but this was different. You _rejected_ me. Even if you wanted to get rid of me as you were before, I could take control over you anytime. The only other explanation would be some sort of human device, but something like that would be enormous! This is the first time this has ever happened!"

I could hardly hear her words at the incredible rate in which she was speaking them. Not wanting to touch the subject anymore, and in the hopes she would calm down, I continued in a different tangent.

"So… You came back to protect me."

"So what? I already told you I care about you, Ray! Tell me what else I'm supposed to do!"

"Somin said you were going to go away, though."

"You honestly believed that? You may have been mad at me Ray, and I wouldn't want to talk to you for fear of agitation, but you really think I wouldn't come straight to you for something so important?"

My face flushed red. "Like I'm supposed to know what you're thinking! I'm not a mind reader like you, Mew… So… Somin lied?"

"Look, I hate to be vague here, but I can pretty much assure you you'll figure out why as soon as you next see him, or Vita, or anyone else. It's not really my place to tell you."

I huffed, rolling my eyes.

"What? Still mad at me? There's not much else I can do to earn your trust, Ray… Getting captured. Asking a legendary to do that is just about the worst thing one can do, and I trusted you to do it. Getting captured by someone you don't know? It's basically saying 'kill me now'."

"What's so bad about it? I'm apparently dying, Mew, I think I have the worse situation here."

"Getting captured means I'm defenseless. Any human could come and pick up this ball, and I wouldn't be able to stop them. Without legendaries to govern the world, what do you think happens, Ray?"

"There's a reason you're called a legendary, Mew… A lot of people don't think you exist. Nothing happens, ever, where a legendary is necessary to fix it. So I don't think anything changes."

"You're right! Absolutely nothing happens, at least in the beginning. Take a moment, though, to imagine what we do behind the scenes. For example, what if two dimensions are soon to collide, but Palkia's just hanging out in someone's basement? What happens if people's dreams start to eat their brains alive, but Darkrai is in a PC? Or, what would happen if there was a DNA crisis that was killing Pokémon by the millions, and the literal _god_ of Pokémon is stuck, here, in a Master Ball being carried around by a stupid human!? What happens when the creator of existence itself just disappears out of nowhere, and it becomes the responsibility of his second in command to govern the legendaries? But no! It doesn't matter if, say, Kyogre and Groudon start fighting and destroy the planet, because I'm here!"

Her voice retreated from the decibel it was at to reveal the words of a frightened little girl. She sounded on the verge of tears. "I don't want to be stuck here, Ray… I need you to get me out, please. I promise I've been trying my best to be the best caretaker of you I can, and you might as well be family to me, Ray… I'm sorry for what I did. I'm a klutz. I've made so many mistakes, and so many people have gotten hurt from it… I just want you to know I… I tried my hardest. Please just know I tried."

I took a moment to gather my bearings after the shocking speech she just gave me. I thought the legendary incapable of showing that much humility.

I honestly didn't have much of an internal debate about my answer. Her statement, however short, was heartfelt. That much I could tell. The answer to her question, despite how agitated I was with her behavior, was obvious.

"Mew?"

"Hmm?" her voice responded, almost nasally from how upset she undoubtedly was.

"You still want to be on the team?"

Silence. Nothing moved in the black void surrounding me, as nothing had previous. Either she was in shock, doubt, or…

A soft, happy mix between laughing and crying was heard from around me, confirming my final guess:

Extreme relief and joy.

"You know…" she spoke shakily between sobs, "Remember when you first met me, back on Chimney? I was so happy just to talk to you. You have no idea how I feel now… After all I've done. Thank you, Ray, just… Thank you so much."

"Mew, just please do me a favor?"

Her voice perked up. "Yeah! Yeah, of course!"

"Please don't lie to me anymore, or change my memories, or anything like that… If you're gonna become part of the team, I want to get to know you with a clear conscience."

"Y-yeah! I'm so sorry for erasing bits and pieces here and there, but they're all back, I promise."

"It's fine… I'm happy you didn't leave," I cut her off, but proceeded to try and cheer her up. "Don't call yourself a klutz… If anything, and you of all Pokémon should know this after watching me for years, I'm even worse."

I chuckled for a moment, having suddenly remembered the fact there was a high probability I'd be dead within the next few hours.

" _If_ I survive," I corrected lightheartedly, despite the situation. Never did I figure out why I was so lackadaisical with the prospect of death… There was still so much more I wanted done in the world.

My words did not seem to have the same effect on Mew, however.

"Oh no, I can't believe I forgot, even for just a bit… Ray, I promise I'll keep you alive for as long as I can, but if we don't talk again, I'm so so so so sorry."

I sighed, the prospect seemingly catching up to me emotionally.

"It means a lot…" was all I said.

Twenty-four hours before, I couldn't care less about the legendary. She'd screwed with me one too many times, and frankly, I was sick of it. Now, though, if I was to die, I didn't want the last conversation I would ever have to be an argument.

Oddly, no emotion came with the imminent threat. I could assure myself my reaction would be widely different if I was awake, but something about this realm… It seemed to effectively suck emotion, at least from me. Mew, on the other hand, was a different story.

She was starting to choke up again. "I… I tried… Oh no, I failed again, didn't I?"

"Mew, it's… Again?"

I was met with silence, instantly unnerving me. I thought she was simply not willing to answer the question.

"Mew?"

I heard her shaky voice trying to formulate words. It was evident through her tone alone that she was absolutely terrified.

"R-Ray? Ray? Oh, please, no!"

"Mew?!" I called back, spinning my head around frantically. "What's going on?"

"Ray! Answer me, please! Just… If you can hear me, please, hold on a little while longer."

"Mew, what are you talking about? I'm talking to you now!"

"Oh, please be okay," I heard her cry. Slightly frustrated with the fact she couldn't hear me, I turned downwards to stare at my own body. What I saw made me choke on my words.

I was becoming less and less opaque, as in, one could see through me with relative ease. I screamed, frantically looking over the rest of my body to check.

Sure enough, the transparency of my figure was steadily increasing at a rate I was not all comfortable with. I tentatively tried to touch my stomach with my hand, feeling nauseous, only for it to phase through entirely.

I was sure, if I weren't stuck in my own mind, that I would have retched then and there.

"No!" I heard Mew, noticing the extreme spite and sorrow seep into her words. "Why him?! I… I just wanted…"

From then on, all I could hear from her were sobs, dotted every so often with self-degrading phrases, the content of which I did not catch.

"MEW!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, a cloudy haze starting to form over my mind. I figured out fairly quickly, judging by Mew's reaction, that this was the process of my own demise. I could feel, in a sudden instant of clarity, all the fear that'd been slowly building over the last few minutes.

My team! Oh Arceus, my team would never see them again! I had to do something! I couldn't die!

I could physically feel myself become gradually separated from my consciousness. With time, it became harder and harder to focus on any given subject, or to what was happening.

"MEW!" I tried once more, screaming even harder. Despite my best efforts, I was slipping. However, her sobs hitched for a moment, followed by silence.

"Rayrayray," she sputtered. "O-okay… Please, I know you can hear me now. Please just hang on for a little longer. We've been in the air for four or five hours. Look, just… We'll get help soon, so plea-"

Her voice disappeared altogether. I was panicked for a few seconds, frightened with the lack of a familiar voice. With how hazy I found my mind, half of what she said went completely over my head, and I forgot that she was present altogether a few seconds after.

Yet, for some odd reason, two words kept spinning through my head.

Hang on…

In the next few moments, my thoughts were solely focused on the question 'hang on to what?'. I couldn't think long enough to get the non-literal meaning.

Maybe ten seconds passed, or maybe it was an hour. Either way, at some specific point, I was falling. It was finally something I could focus on.

I'd been weightless previously, but now I was stuck in freefall. I was aware, however little, of increased lethargy that came with the drop in altitude.

At one point, I just wanted to close my eyes and sleep, but the two words kept replaying in the forefront of my mind.

Hang on…

Still I had absolutely no idea what the phrase referred to. I repeated it out loud to myself multiple times, hoping to spark some memory.

My mind was in constant battle with itself, and the side favoring my falling asleep was gaining trust from an innate part of my being. Yet, a single, spontaneous memory fueled the instantaneous journey to the other side of the spectrum.

 _My team… Vita, Somin, Axle, Jet, Victor, and… Mew…_

Right then, my vision exploded in a pink color, contrasting greatly from the darkness I was accustomed to. When I felt ready to open my eyes after the lighting change, I found a long, slender, pink rope, dangling directly in front of me.

Hang on…

I reached out a hand, my human hand, to touch the rope. It was warm, and overloaded my senses with a feeling of wellbeing. I retracted my hand, surprised.

Hang on…

I indulged myself, and following the command from who-knew-where, took a hold with both hands, grasping the rope tightly.

I felt a jerk as my downward momentum instantly stopped. I hardly felt the euphoria the rope brought before my senses went dull.

From then on, it was impossible to understand what was happening. No time passed, no thoughts crossed my mind, except for the same two words circulating over and over.

As long as I held my hand shut, encompassing the smooth surface of the rope, I didn't feel anything.

Voices started popping up around me after a time, whispering random phrases, the contents of which I hardly grasped.

Some told me to let go, capitalizing on the fact I was growing steadily more exhausted. They were right, too. I would have long since shut my eyes and let go had it not been for my mysterious conviction to 'hang on'.

Their commands and suggestions were starting to become more appealing, after a little while. Would it have been so bad to just let go?

My lack of awareness hardly allowed me to register the fact the rope was slowly disappearing, it's pink tint losing its vigor. Before I knew it, and prior to my inevitable giving up, the entire world went black.

* * *

"Ugh… This is so _boring_! Why do I gotta sit in here? Why can't someone else?"

My first action, now semi-conscious, was to weakly cough, my lungs feeling as if they were on fire. The instinctual function only made it worse.

The voice that was complaining went quiet. I didn't bother opening my eyes to check.

I moaned tiredly, shifting under the heavy blankets encircling me. It hurt to move much.

"Oh _finally_! Jeez! How long did it take you? A week? You have _no_ idea how boring it was waiting for you to finally wake up."

I grunted indignantly, already annoyed with the voice… As I was, I simply wanted to go back to sleep. I shifted on my right side, facing away from the sound, clenching my eyes shut in the hopes of escaping the harsh reality of how I felt.

"Wait! You're not going back to sleep, are you?! Really?! You've been asleep for that long, and you want _more_? I am _not_ waiting again."

I clenched my eyes shut tighter, hoping to be rid of the nagging voice.

A few seconds went by without and deviation in the silence that hung over us. Contradicting my mind's protests, I decided to open my eyes to investigate.

I nearly screamed when I saw an Axew's face staring angrily at me from what must have been an inch away.

"If you think you're gonna make me sit here even more than I already have, you got another thing coming. I'm not afraid to beat you up again."

I scowled in frustration, obscenities crossing my mind.

 _Arceus, why? Out of all the Pokémon in the world, why her?_

"Hey! You braindead?! Answer me!"

"Why are you here?" I rasped, unhappy to mind most of my voice had vanished.

"Hey, it's not my fault! I saved your life! Dragged you out of the water and kept you living. While I was distracted with you, they knocked me out and brought me here. The cowards, can't fight me 'mon to 'mon. They just stuck me here with you and said to stay until you woke up."

"Where are we, then?" I wheezed, trying to clear my throat to rid it of any mucus present.

"Like I know! You've made me see hardly anything but this room for the last few days! Thanks for that, by the way."

Mustering the energy, and ignoring the rambling Axew, I turned my head to take a look around.

I laid on a small, white bed, just large enough to fit a creature maybe twice my size. It was most definitely much too small to fit a human, or any member of my team for that matter, except for Victor.

Or Mew…

It was blanketed with heavy, sky-blue sheets, restricting my movement. The air outside was cool, not calling for much resistance to the warmth they provided.

Looking behind the Axew, a window, shades down, dimly lit the room with a dull, white light. On either side were two chairs and a desk. Scattered papers and folders cluttered the surface.

The first thing I thought when I saw the IV stand next to my bed was simply 'hospital room'. My heart raced for a moment with the thought, but I calmed down when I saw it was disconnected. I was never much of a fan of needles.

Sighing aggravatedly, noticing how Misa'd never stopped speaking, I took a look at the wood door on the other side of me, centered with a single, small window for decoration. It complemented the darker shade of wood making up the walls and floor. I could see a bit of the same shade of brown in the hallway outside. The view was limited.

For some reason, Misa was _still_ talking. Frustrated, but feeling too exhausted to get extremely angry, I turned to her.

"Are you done?" I spoke, my voice gradually getting better. "Why don't you tell me something useful, instead of _blabbing_ forever?"

She stopped speaking, finally, instead staring at me with a slightly offended glare. She huffed through her nose like a bull, hoping to make herself look intimidating.

"You're _really_ scary," I rolled my eyes. "You going to tell me where we are?"

"Like I know! If you were listening to what I said, you would know I've been waiting for days in this room! They don't wanna tell me nuthin', because they know I'll break past all of them and escape."

I rolled my eyes, simply turning away from her, towards the door. I didn't believe I had the strength to maintain an argument against a brick wall.

"Hey, here's an idea! I can break you out, if you want me to. All you gotta do is say 'thank you' for how I saved your sorry butt."

Where she expected a response, she didn't get one. Her ramblings were becoming near-unbearable to deal with.

"Hello? You still there?" she asked, promoting me to grit my teeth.

Despite all notions of common sense, and driven only for a hatred of the situation I found myself in, I tried ignoring her from there.

"Gonna answer me, baby Ray?"

I froze. Normally, the nickname would have invoked anger, but shock at hearing my real name paralyzed me. I turned towards Misa with a fearful expression.

"Where'd you hear that name?" I hissed, getting as close to the Axew as possible. I made sure there were no cameras in the room with a quick swivel of my head.

"Uhh. I dunno," she replied, peeved with my change of topic. "Jet, maybe? Probably."

"Jet?! When'd you talk to Jet? How do you know his name?!"

"If you're gonna be bossy about it, then I won't tell you!"

"Aaaargh!" I screamed, turning towards the door to make sure no one was intruding on the conversation. I turned back towards her, reminiscing on the last time I'd seen Vita, and more specifically, what she'd called me.

"Look, I know this may be hard to comprehend for someone as stupid as you," I spat, "but if you're even physically able do one thing right, _never_ say that name here."

"Oh yeah?! You're a hatchling! Why should I be scared of anything you say?"

Thinking on my feet, I responded menacingly. "Because, if anyone here figures out you know that name, I can assure Somin'll tear you to little, blabbing shreds. _Got it?_ "

She looked at me perplexedly, cocking an eyebrow. "What's a Somin?"

Huffing, I turned back towards the door. Despite my body's protests, I summoned the willpower to get up.

"Hey! I'm talking to you! What's a Somin?!"

As soon as I moved my legs to get under me, however, I groaned with the sudden sensation of my leg catching fire. Covered by blankets, I'd completely forgotten about the wound. I grit my teeth as I rode out the wave of pain.

"Oh great, now you've gone and done it. Can you go for two minutes without getting hurt or passing out?" Misa taunted from behind.

"Fuck… You," I wheezed, feeling the pain start to disappear gradually.

My ears instinctively perked up as the door leading out to the hallway was opened.

"Hey, Misa… D-Do you wanna go d-"

I raised my head to meet the stare of a flustered Flygon flitting its gaze back and forth between us.

"Uhh...Hello…" he spoke quietly and quickly, his voice fairly high-pitched for a dragon of his stature, "I'll, uhh…" He raised his arms and waved them towards us in a gesture saying 'stay still'. "I'll be right back. Don't, uhh… Don't move, at all… Please…"

He disappeared before either of us could respond.

"Yes! Finally! Finally getting out of here! Last chance to get on board with my escape. You in?"

I simply shot a brief scowl in her direction as a response.

"Eh, suit yourself, pipsqueak."

Before I could get too angry and start yelling at her persistent use of demeaning nicknames, she jumped off the bed and rushed towards the door.

I rolled my eyes, simply resigning myself to close them until the Flygon returned.

 _What made them think it was a good idea to lock me in a room with her? Wouldn't the team be a much better opt-_

My eyes flew open as I thought about the team, and more specifically, the Durant I'd left behind.

"Victor," I whispered. Was everyone okay?

I was tempted to ask Misa for a few moments, but decided against it. Knowing her, she would give me some sort of sarcastic or stupid response. I could ask the Flygon when he returned. I doubted he would come alone, maybe accompanied by Vita, or maybe even Victor himself.

I watched through half-lidded, bored eyes as Misa arduously dragged a chair across the room with an annoying creak. She propped it up beside the door, grunting as she climbed on.

"Don't bother," I told her. "It's probably loc-"

The door opened with a click as the Axew jumped up to grab the handle. She fell to the ground as it swung inward.

"If it was _open,_ why didn't you escape before?!" I yelled, gawking at the dragon's stupidity.

"The time wasn't right yet. You gotta be smart about these things."

"Really now. It wasn't because you didn't know _how_ to open it? Either way, what's your plan, oh wise one?"

"It's easy! I knock out the guards, make it outside, and make a break for it! It's foolproof!"

"Yeah, you have fun with that…"

Misa simply smirked at me, slipping out of the room shortly after. I sighed, thankful to finally be rid of the annoyance, and was now able to occupy my thoughts with the team.

One big question popped in my head. Why did Somin lie about Mew's disappearance? I faintly remembered Mew telling me, in the dark void, that I was soon to find out.

With nothing to do, and no leads on the Zoroark's deception, Mew's capturing came to mind. The first priority for me, after assuring my team's wellbeing, was to free Mew. We'd surely be able to escape with her by our sides.

Yet, how was I able to do it? I could hardly move without setting my leg ablaze. There was no way I could handle myself.

I needed more time to think…

The door to the room reopening caught my attention. Perception of sound came back to me as I snapped out of the trance.

Misa's indignant squeaks filled the air, taking the form of puny curses. I raised my head to see she was being carried in a single arm by Drayden himself. He held her in such a position as to restrict any movement, including any measures of retaliation. Her body size (or lack thereof), contributed to her instant suppression.

I stayed silent, resigning myself to glare at the Gym Leader without words. The man I'd had mixed feelings about in Opelucid due to Somin's injury was silently staring back, scrutinizing my every detail with the highest degree of caution.

Three of his dragons, including the Flygon, Altaria, and Haxorus, stood behind him.

The Altaria tried stepping forward towards me in greeting, but Drayden held out his free arm to stop her.

"Nox, was it? I'm finally glad to meet you personally. My name is Drayden."

 _Nox? What's Nox? Wait… They really don't know I'm Ray?_

I remained quiet, heart racing. Was it right to say anything? If I were to act my age, as was what would be most obvious for someone in my position, what would I be naturally capable of?

 _My team just have given me to help hide._

"Speechless… Smart, but pointless. I already know you're able to communicate, and rather well, at that. You're not in trouble, and there's nothing for you to worry about, I can assure it."

I sighed, looking off to the side in frustration. I subconsciously adjusted myself into a more comfortable stature, facing towards the party with my paws under my chest.

"You're currently in what's called a Pokemon Center. You were severely injured from what was described to me as a Beartic attack, is that right?"

I said nothing in return, eyeing the group with a forced, calm stare.

"A simple yes or no would suffice just fine. You could even just nod or shake your head if you wish. It will make this entire process a lot easier."

Narrowing my eyes, I nodded slowly.

"Good, good," Drayden alighted, letting a slightly amused smile show on his face. "I would like you to meet a few of my colleagues," he then said, tightening his grip on Misa to stop her whining. He proceeded to, without any reaction, motion for his team to move forward. He finally finished with a simple, "I'll be down the hall," before taking both himself and the protesting Axew out the door, closing it behind him.

I was now left with three fully-matured dragons, each multiple times my size. My mind told me, for a kit my age, it would be best to act intimidated. However, I hardly had to put any effort into playing the part accordingly. They were just so… Huge, as compared to how I was now.

An awkward silence reigned for the first few moments. I subconsciously shrunk back, under the covers.

"Uh-umm… Hi?" The Flygon was first to speak, stepping forward. He raised a clawed hand in a meek greeting, tail swishing back and forth anxiously. "But, uhh… You kinda already know me, sooo… Umm… We uhh…You saw me a few seconds ago…"

He turned back towards his group nervously, no doubt giving them a pleading stare. The Haxorus looked back with a sort of amused indifference, while the Altaria padded forward to take his place.

"That was Flygon," she said, smiling in my direction. "He's not exactly the best with words."

The named dragon narrowed his eyes behind their red shields.

"As for myself, you can just call me Altaria."

"You don't have names?" was the first phrase that came to mind, and without the pressure of Drayden present, for some reason, the words just flowed out of my mouth. They'd heard me speak to Mew on Twist. Something about the Gym Leader, however, compelled me not to speak.

The Altaria, shocked with the question, opened her mouth to give a flustered reply, but the Haxorus spoke first.

"So," it said in a deep, scratchy male voice, one reminiscent of Drayden himself. "You actually _are_ intelligent. I have to say, it's quite a shock to hear. Our other… Companion… He didn't believe what we were being told about you."

My cover was now absolutely blown. Seeing no reason to remain quiet, I started stuttering.

"Oh, well… I-I, uh…"

"As for your question," the Haxorus continued. "If you're as interested as you seem, yes, we do have names. It is customary for dragons, at least where we come from, to respect the significance of a name, and keep it in high regard. Thus, we tend to only reveal our true names to those we trust and know well."

His size, despite his calm exterior, radiated superiority. "Oh, um… I understand… I'm sorry for asking."

"Aww, why so humble?" the Altaria laughingly chastised. "Where'd you learn to be like that?"

"I-I don't know?" I embarrassedly replied, not quite getting the rhetorical intention in her words.

"Oh, oh don't worry. Please, I didn't mean it like that," she continued lightheartedly. "We _do_ have nicknames we use amongst ourselves, even if Drayden doesn't like to reveal them to the public."

"Altar-" the Haxorus tried speaking up in opposition, but was cut off as the Altaria continued.

"He's a kit, Haxorus. You can keep your nickname from him if you want, it's your decision."

She turned back towards me, her eyes calming.

"I hope you understand why we can't give you our real names, little one, but please, feel free to call me Seraph if you wish."

"S-Seraph?" I echoed, trying to sound polite. I tried desperately to lift my ears from the sides of my head, placed there by pure intimidation.

The Altaria simply nodded. "Don't be so tense," she told me. "You're still healing, and you're starting to sound like Skipp."

"H-hey!" the Flygon spoke up. "I d-don't sound like that!"

"Oh dear," she cooed, stepping behind the flustered dragon gracefully. She proceeded to whisper something in the Flygon's ear.

"If you haven't already figured it out, this embarrassed little Flygon right here is Skipp," she readdressed me as she finished her confidential message to the dragon.

The Pokémon in question looked away, eyes narrowed as his face lit up red.

"He may be a timid little dragon," she continued, nuzzling the larger creature gently on the shoulder, "but don't let that confuse you. He isn't always like this."

I shifted my attention towards the Haxorus as I felt his glare bore under my skin. Yet, when I turned my head to face him, he was simply staring at me with a calm gaze. I shivered in trepidation.

"You may refer to me as Vulcan, if you wish," he told me reluctantly, "Your name was Nox, as I gathered, correct?"

"Y-yes."

"Good, good," the Haxorus, Vulcan, responded. "I hate to rush you in your recovery, but as I'm sure you're well aware, quite a lot has happened in the last few days. Seraph would like to ask you a few questions."

The Altaria addressed spoke up before I could respond, taking a few strides back to the bedside while ignoring my apparent discomfort.

"Nonsense, Vulcan. The poor kit's just woken up! We can wait a little while."

The Haxorus huffed, ready to give a retort.

"I, uhh…" I interjected, grimacing at the pain the words brought to my throat. "Are my umm… friends alright?"

"Friends? Oh!" Seraph responded, advancing on me. After making sure I was comfortable with her approach, she lowered herself to stare into my eyes.

"Yes, yes, they're perfectly fine," she continued. "They're just a few doors down, in fact! You were far worse off than any of them, as terrible as it is to say. They were worried sick."

"Oh… Really?"

"Not many hatchlings come out of a seven-degree fever, let alone ones previously malnourished such as yourself," Vulcan took over, giving a gruff explanation.

 _Seven degrees! It was that bad?!_

"Normal body temperature of a Zorua rests around 101 Fahrenheit. You were admitted with a fever o-"

"Knock it off, Vulcan, you'll scare him!" Seraph interrupted, turning her head to reprimand the Haxorus. She rotated back to face me after a few seconds, eyes losing some of their light.

"You should try to take it easy, though, dear. You're most likely still sick, as you can probably tell, and I don't doubt the idea you're temperature's still high."

It was more shock than fear that flooded my system. I was glad the Altaria stopped the Haxorus in his explanation nonetheless, considering it allowed my heart to stop racing. Mew wasn't kidding when she said I was close to death.

Speaking of which…

I shook my head of any lingering thoughts, and tried to focus them around the legendary herself. I'd just about completely gotten over and malicious feelings towards her. Even if some resentment hung in the air, I tried telling myself to not be so short-sighted in my opinion of the legendary. Either way, she was the only hope of escaping while keeping the team intact.

"I-I," I started, nervous when faced with the potential consequences, should I create any discrepancies in my acting. "Can I see them, please? My friends?"

Seraph turned back to me, gaze softening instantly. I tried my best to put on a pitiful look, even if it ate me up on the inside to act in such a manner.

"Aww, hun…" she started, eyes lowering. "I know you want to see them all badly, and you will, I promise… But…"

"But?" I responded, eyes flitting between each of the dragons.

"W-we have to a-ask you a few things f-first," Skipp explained, fiddling with his claws in front of his stomach absentmindedly. "Drayden, uhh… He…"

"Your friends are in trouble at the moment," Vulcan interrupted. "It's important we get a few things straight before we proceed."

He stepped forward, pushing Seraph away from her post next to the bed. His rapid advance prompted me to scoot away.

"One of your friends will be in to see you in a little bit, but you have to try and help us out here," Seraph explained.

I gulped, body forcing me into nodding my head.

"Good. As long as you behave, unlike your Axew friend, I'm sure you'll all be reunited soon," Vulcan continued.

"S-she's not my friend," I choked out. "Why'd you guys bring her here with us, and leave her here with me?"

Seraph finally retook her post as Vulcan walked towards the door and exited the room. He was most likely off to see Drayden.

"We weren't going to leave her to freeze to death on top of a mountain," the Altaria laughed. "Though, she _has_ been quite the handful."

I simply huffed in spite of the small dragon.

"And I believe we've been spending quite a bit of time with her outside this room. Most of the time, it's she herself who chooses to stay in here."

The Altaria smiled, leaning in closer for a moment.

"Well, in any case, you'll probably be seeing a lot of her over the next few days. Don't tell her I told you this, but…"

She closed in on me further, as if to tell me a big secret.

"She was really scared when she woke up after we brought you all here. You were really the only one she knew, and it helped her calm down a little bit."

I sighed unhappily. It seemed to go by unnoticed by the Altaria, however.

Skipp stepped forward from behind her. "Umm… We should probably start asking the questions Drayden wanted us to," he said quietly, gaining the attention of Seraph.

"There's no problem in chatting a little," she smiled, "try it for a little, Arceus knows you need to be more sociable."

The Flygon muttered something under his breath, indiscernible. Seraph turned back towards me, her face home to a soft smile.

"Look, hun… You should get your rest, help heal that cut of yours… You can go to sleep after I ask you a few things. Is that alright?"

Blinking, I pondered the proposal for a few moments. I wasn't tired, that much I knew. Would I be able to deny her request to questioning, though, without arousing suspicion?

Sighing, and seeing no other way to go forward, I nodded my head before resting it on my paws.

"Okay dear, thank you," Seraph spoke quietly, nodding her head in thanks before beginning.

"So, I know you have all your… Friends… In the other room. Do they treat you well?"

I simply nodded. I figured a minimalistic approach would work best when taking into account my fear of being found out. If I were to speak, I would likely make a discrepancy in my story.

"Good, I'm glad. I'm sure they're all very nice Pokémon. Do you have any other friends?"

Acting purely on instinct, I shook my head no.

My answer perplexed the Altaria, prompting a tilt of her head.

"Really now?" she said, blinking before slightly narrowing her eyes. "Sweetie, have you ever spoken with a Pokémon called Mew? The small, pink creature that was there the night we found you?"

My eyes widened in recognition of my mistake. They'd _seen_ me talking to Mew, and even if they didn't hear me, they sure got the notion I knew her.

"O-oh," I stuttered, eyes shifting towards Skipp, who was simply watching the conversation with apprehension.

I tried making up some excuse for what I said, blurting the first thing that came to mind.

"I-I thought she was included… W-with the rest of my friends."

"And why would that be?" she asked, her voice progressively becoming even more confused.

"It's, um, I dunno…"

Seraph chuckled in response. "We have time, dear."

I'd already slipped up, now combing through thoughts to come up with a believable answer. I couldn't tell the truth, that was out of the question…

Or was it? Maybe if I were to tell a half-truth, I could get off the hook.

"Ray," I said, trying to sound as confident in my response as possible, "I only knew him for a little, but I remember him talking about how Mew was gonna be part of the team…"

Seraph's eyes narrowed even more in a scrutinizing stare. I simply looked towards the floor, praying she would believe me.

"There's no reason to be nervous, sweetie. You've been such a big help," Seraph encouraged, "Now, I want to get to know you a little better. We might be seeing each other a lot in the future."

I gave no visible response.

"There's a… Concern that my companions and I have about you."

I perked up, ready to craft a flimsy defense for myself. The Altaria instantly took notice.

"Oh, no no no, it's not your fault," she soothed. "No, we're just confused about you, is all… You're an incredibly unique Pokémon, do you know that?"

Pretending to act clueless, I promptly asked her about why she thought of me that way.

"Well, we've never seen quite a smart little kit as you. When looking at other Zorua your age, many barely know how to walk, let alone talk, and you can do both with mastery."

"You want to know why?" I finished for her.

The Altaria sighed in response. "Yes, dear… If you know why, I'd love to know."

I searched my thoughts for a few seconds. Despite her demeanor, I doubted she would take 'I don't know' as a legitimate answer.

"Mew," was the first thing that came to mind. "Mew, I think…"

Seeing Seraph wanted more information, I started improvising.

"We used to talk a lot when I was in my, uhh… Egg. Even though I hadn't hatched, I still remember her voice… Maybe she taught me?"

Seraph nodded in understanding. "Do you remember what about?"

"Oh, no, not really, sorry."

"Don't be! Your information's been invaluable, and you've done extremely well. I should probably let you rest… I'll see to it that you can see when you wake up, is that okay?"

I perked my head up. "I'm, uhh… N-not really tired. I just really want to see them."

"Oh, I know you must miss them terribly," she cooed in her babying tone. "But you haven't healed fully yet, and we want to make sure you'll be safe. I promise, you'll see them soon. In the meantime, I can stay with you so you won't be lonely, okay?"

I wasn't exactly on a position to argue with the dragon…

"I'm proud of you, Nox. Just wait a little while longer for me, please."

 _Great… Just great…_

I turned myself away from the smiling Altaria, unsure of what to do. I mindlessly sunk towards the foot of the bed, hiding myself beneath the covers to maintain the warmth I had.

Perhaps I should have heeded the Altaria's advice, but for all the effort I gave, I couldn't feel exhausted.

I figured sleeping _would_ be the best course of action. I thought the Altaria would leave within a few minutes of her saying she would stay, but it seemed she was stuck to her commitment. I could hear the larger dragon's breaths every so often through the sheets.

 _Would she expect a kit to be energetic? Not be able to sleep? Maybe if I was a month or two older, but… I don't know._

Maybe ten minutes into my charade, I figured sleep was a necessity. A thought started forming in my head about how I could achieve it.

The first would be requesting the Altaria sing me to sleep. This troubled me for a few reasons. Firstly, I would be revealing even more about my extensive knowledge of what the dragon was capable of. Furthermore, requesting the move be performed on me would require me to tell her I was awake. Surely, a kit my age wouldn't stay awake as long as I had, given the opportunity to fall back asleep. Even the idea of the process stuck a chord of anxiety. Paranoia regarding everything I was to do and had already doe was inching down my spine.

Despite the reasons against my asking her being flimsy, I opted to exhaust myself through the same means as I had many nights before; when I'd opened a connection to drain my energy.

I took a moment to let power pool into my head before shooting it out towards where I imagined the Altaria stood.

I smiled at my thriftiness, starting to feel the dearth in energy pull me down. My slow fall into unconsciousness was interrupted, however, when Seraph spoke out of nowhere.

"Nox? Are you doing that?"

Panicking, I instantly severed the connection, praying to Arceus she would believe my being asleep.

I heard her start to shuffle towards the bed in apprehension. I was terrified, ready to act asleep to save my hide altogether.

Yet, the sound of an opening of the door from the opposite side of the room saved me.

I recognized Skipp's voice permeate the building tension. "Y-you guys aren't busy… Are you?"

"What?" Seraph responded. "No, no… Nothing's happened."

"You okay? You look like a Gastly just scared the daylights out of you."

"Yes, yes," Seraph brushed the Flygon off. "I'm fine… I'll tell you about it in a little while."

Drayden's voice was next to speak up from an area close to Skipp's, cutting the Flygon off before he could give a reply.

"Flygon has told me you've gotten some valuable information. Is that true, Altaria?"

Silence was given in response. I supposed Seraph was giving a nod of her head.

"Oh, you gave him your nicknames, did you? That will make things a bit easier. Do me a favor and watch the Axew for me. Vicus has requested my presence, and I'd rather not take what can be considered as collateral."

"Hey!" I heard Misa's voice pipe in. "Don't talk about me all smartly so I don't know what you're saying!"

I heard Seraph chuckle. "Come over here Misa, and be quiet please. Nox is trying to sleep."

"Yeah, like I care! What has he ever done fo- OW!"

I nearly laughed at the sound of her being hit by someone present in the room.

"Tone it down," I heard Vulcan, the Haxorus, reprimand.

"Make sure that Zorua doesn't do anything stupid," Drayden commanded his dragons almost immediately thereafter, "We can't leave until he's better, so I don't want any further injuries. All the media crowding this place is starting to grate on my nerves. Understood?"

Both Seraph and Skipp gave some sort of audible confirmation.

"Vulcan, you're coming with me to Vicus. Seraph, I'll be back after my summons to get a report on what the kit told you. Until then, keep a close eye on the Axew. She's a spunky little thing."

" _Spunky?_ I'll show you spun- OW! COME ON! You're gonna regret doing that!"

"S-sorry," I heard Skipp stutter, most likely the one to strike her this time. "Just, please keep it down a little. We don't want Nox to wake back up."

I heard an indignant snort emanate from the small Axew.

"I'm five months old," she protested. "I'm old enough to do what I want."

I nearly choked on my own breath.

 _Five months?! She looks like she just barely hatched! No four-month Axew should look that frail!_

I heard the faint sound of the door closing behind Drayden as he left. Seraph sighed.

"Skipp, honey, do you think you and Misa could play outside? You two have fun together, don't you?"

"I guess," she harrumphed in response.

"Good, good. I know you'll have fun. You may even meet some new friends!"

No one spoke thereafter, the only sound being the little patter of feet as Misa marched angrily towards the door. Skipp, after sharing a barely-audible whisper with Seraph, opened the door and left, Axew in tow.

After they were long gone, silence took over the room once again. All I heard were the short breaths I took every few seconds.

"Nox? I know you're awake. Come on out."

I froze. How had she known? It was obvious she'd recognized _something_ when I sent out my illusionary connection, but how was she able to tell? Perhaps through the same means Somin knew? He'd had his entire life to detect and practice illusions, though.

"There's no point in faking, dear. I'll come to you if you don't come out."

I sighed softly. There was no way out of it. Reluctantly, I crept forward, angling the covers so I could spy on the Altaria without revealing myself fully.

"You're not in trouble," she confirmed, crouching down to stare me straight in the eyes. "You just scared me, is all."

I shied away, looking down.

"You shouldn't use illusions around here," she warned, leaning down to whisper to me. "Drayden wanted to put an insulator on you, and we had an argument on whether or not it was fair for you."

"I-Insulator?"

"It's a human machine," she explained. "It suppresses our core so we can't use abilities. It feels absolutely horrible to wear."

I stared at her dumbfoundedly. "H-how did you know I was able to do them?"

She chuckled despite the situation. "I had a hunch. Mew doesn't seem like the most patient of Pokémon, and one of your friends is a master. I was affirmed when I felt you try to trick me."

"T-trick you?"

"Your illusions," Seraph pointed out. "Don't worry, sweetie, I know you only wanted to practice."

 _S-she doesn't know what I was trying to do… Thank Arceus._

"I would like to know something, though," she continued. "Did Mew really teach you about conjuring illusions, straight out of the egg? You have to understand, Nox, that a hatchling with your natural ability only continues to dumbfound me."

I highly doubted the excuse of 'Mew taught me' would work here, considering my lack of knowing whether or not the legendary was capable of conjuring illusions herself.

"I-I asked Somin to teach me," I explained, hoping to sound convincing. "I thought, you know, since there was nothing better to do…"

Seraph openly laughed, advancing on the bed with a jovial attitude. "As if surviving, barely out of the egg, in that winter wasteland didn't occupy your time." I observed her silently as she raised the sheets with a wing to uncover me. I refused to meet her gaze, but perceived the tilting of her head.

"I know this is all very new for you, and it was incredibly brash of me to bombard you with questions as soon as you woke. I'm here, though, if you need me. I understand if you're scared and confused, it's okay to show it."

I briefly looked up into her dark-colored, welcoming eyes. I turned away again, hoping not to grab too much attention.

"It's alright if you want to remain wary; it's an admirable quality. I hope you choose to open up eventually, though. Even if you don't want to right now, know you're allowed to finally let your guard down, maybe for the first time in your life. Remember that."

I shut my eyes in hopes of ignoring her soothing words. I knew I wouldn't be able to let my guard down.

"There'll be a time when you can use your illusions safely soon, I promise. Everyone's a little on-edge here, though, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't try playing any jokes on anyone for a little while, okay? An Insulator is the last thing you'd enjoy."

She placed the blankets back over my head, as they were previously. She proceeded to, with a soft smile, place a cloudy wing on top of the bundle.

At first thought, I believed she was simply trying to show her good intention, but the rapid spread of heat to encompass the entire blanket told me otherwise. Now I felt no traces of the room's chilly temperature, instead trapped between a bed and a soothing warmth. I squirmed involuntarily, my body happily accepting the gift.

"I'll be right here if you need me."

I nodded from my makeshift fortress, hoping I would now be able to fall asleep.

Of course, troubling thoughts still riddled my mindscape. Yet, when anything of the sort arose, I simply procrastinated, proclaiming I would take care of whatever issue came to mind after healing.

After a few moments of shifting uncomfortably, the Altaria, still close to me, began vocalizing a slow, soft tune. I found my eyes rolling back into my head as I was left unprepared for her sleep-inducing song.

* * *

I slowly felt myself leaving unconsciousness with a soft prod to the shoulder.

I found it extremely hard to open my eyes, only succeeding somewhat. My vision refused to focus, however, bringing only a myriad of color to my vision.

"Nox, sweetie… Please wake up."

I blinked rapidly. Memory of my situation was soon to return.

I couldn't see much after opening my eyes fully. I tried looking around until I saw a face. Soft, red eyes stared back into my own.

"Vita! Oh my god! What happened, is everyone okay?!"

The Serperior narrowed her eyes at me, silently telling me to shut my mouth. She flicked her snout back towards the door in indication there were creatures just on be opposite side.

"I'm glad to see you're okay," she said sincerely, softening up reaching in for a light hug with a few of her vines. Feeling an uncontrollable smile come to my face, I scooted in and tried using my legs to give the Serperior a human hug. I hung onto her for what seemed like quite a while, my face kept close against her neck.

"So, we got caught…" I said without much emotion, waiting for her to end the embrace.

Vita chuckled. "Yes, but we're all being treated rather well… Victor ended up defeating the Beartic by the time we found him. He was hurt, but he's doing rather well now… We were all much more worried about you, though."

"I think I'm fine… My leg hurts a lot, but… They don't know."

"That's more than likely a good thing. There's no telling if we'd even be seeing each other if that were the case. I want to trust Drayden, but I can't be sure."

"I… I'm so glad to see you. Mew told me I was dying and I… I really thought I wouldn't ever see you guys again. I was so scared, Vita."

I felt myself on the verge of tears, but held back. Instead, I cozied up against the Serperior further, refusing to leave her side as she slithered up and over the lip of the bed and curled around me lovingly. She slowly stroked my head with a vine as I lay there, quietly, and despite my previous rejection of her care while on Twist, I was glad she was there for me now.

No words were exchanged for about a full ten minutes. By then, I'd slowly allowed for my silent revelry in the pure fact of being alive to stand aside for a moment.

"Mew was captured then, huh?"

The Serperior backed away slowly and gave me a curious look. "How did you know?"

"She came and talked to me… She also said…"

I blinked for a moment, lowering my gaze.

"What's wrong?"

"She said Somin lied to me about Mew leaving… Why did you two leave the cave? I was worried and went out after you, and then… Well, you know."

The Serperior smiled gently, sighing as she brought her body up on my bed. She curled herself around me in a loving manner. She began to hush her voice to a whisper.

"We didn't want to distract you from living and adjusting as you are now with our, by comparison, small problems… It was stupid in hindsight, but we had only the best of intentions. We were all paranoid, Ray, and we thought it best if we try and let you adjust and focus on yourself without worrying about us."

"I thought we were a team, though… We agreed to share everything together. Doesn't that mean something?"

"Of course it does. I'm sorry we were acting so oddly, but… I was scared you would have too much on your mind, and Somin, well… He thought the same, but he was nearly too embarrassed and shocked to process the information himself."

I closed my eyes, processing what she'd said before opening them again. "What were you trying to hide, Vita?"

She took a moment before sighing and reaching out with vines over the lip of the bed. A few seconds passed before she slowly dragged them back, wrapped around an irregularly spherical object with much the same hue. I recognized it instantly.

"Holy… Vita… Y-you!"

"We… We were scared. I didn't enjoy being secretive about it, but we wanted you to focus on getting used to your new life without having to worry about me."

I opened my mouth.

"Don't you even dare try to lie to me here. Arceus knows you would've been just as protective and paranoid as Somin, if not more."

"W-when did you two…"

"Lavaridge… Not quite a story I think is appropriate for sharing."

"Vita, I… I don't know what to say. I knew you and Somin were close, but…"

"We've had a lot of time to foster our relationship with one another… I'm sorry we didn't ask your permission before even considering it. I know this is a bur-"

"Vita! This is amazing! An egg?! Don't act like you needed me to let you guys do something like this! I'm so happy for you!"

"You're not angry with us for hiding it?"

"Vita, I'm pissed, but between the near-death scare and the fact that you're gonna be a mom… You'll do great."

She let the egg sit back on the floor before coiling around me tighter.

"Somin hardly seems like the 'dad' type to me…"

"He was very embarrassed about all this. I believe it's part of the reason he never wanted to tell anyone, but we agreed on focusing on helping you transition, for now…"

I let myself remember the lie the Zoroark crafted regarding Mew. My smile slowly faded into a face of contemplation.

"Somin told me a really nasty lie to cover it up, though… He made me think Mew was leaving, and I… I was so angry at her, for no reason. She's been doing all she can to help me and I was an ass. She's the only reason I'm still here right now."

"I know he doesn't like her much, but I had no idea he said anything about it… I'm sorry, Nox."

"I guess Mew and I worked it out in the end, but still… I'm not in the best mood with Somin right now."

I sighed before continuing.

"But, there's no point in talking about it now… We have a lot more important stuff to take care of, now that we were captured."

"Do they treat you well here? The Dragons who led me here seemed relatively kind."

"Seraph the Altaria and Skipp the Flygon are pretty nice so far, yeah. But they've asked a ton of questions, and I don't think they're gonna stop. What should I do?"

"We obviously can't give you all the answers, so I can only advise you to say what seems like it makes the most sense… Somin's made a point about not answering any more questions, but…"

She leant in to continue in a whisper.

"As long as they don't know you're you, you have to try and play the part. I know it's hard for you, being like you are, but the only way I see us getting out of this with a happy ending is if you trick them into thinking you're a Zorua hatchling."

"That's a lot to ask…"

"We can try and wait for the whole situation to blow over, but we're at least hoping they'll let you see us often, so we can try and coordinate either an escape or a real plan of action. For now, I have to ask you to improvise. Can you do that?"

"I… I can try."

"That's all I can ask. Thank you."


	13. Readjustment

l

 **Chapter XII - Readjustment**

* * *

Vulcan walked in as I tried once again. The Haxorus waited quietly as I, in the presence of Seraph, Skipp, and one of the resident Pokémon nurses, took a few shaky steps forward.

"You're doing so well!" the Audino remarked, smiling as I grunted. My right, hind leg felt weak, and stung proportionally to the weight I put on it.

A day had passed since my conversation with Vita, littered with sporadic conversations with either, and sometimes both, of the two dragons. I'd gotten to know them both relatively well, and while I gave small hints at information regarding my situation they may have found valuable, I tried being as ambiguous as possible.

Now, however, was a first round of physical therapy. My leg felt a lot worse to walk on than I thought it did, but I was able to take small steps on my own.

"Okay, I think you've done enough for today," the Audino concluded happily. With that, the Altaria placed one of her cloudy wings on the ground, allowing me to step up on it and be raised up to my bed. "You did great today, and I think you'll be better in no time!"

I simply nodded. Seraph had requested I didn't speak to anyone that I didn't already know previously. Why, I had no idea, but I was hardly in a position to argue.

The Audino then took the time to remove my bandages and inspect the wound. I kept myself from looking at the gash, but I knew it would be a scar relatively soon. A scar on a body I would soon no longer inhabit.

"Well, I'm happy to say you're doing much better!" the Audino cheered me as she reapplied fresh bandages. Aside, she addressed Skipp and Seraph. "The swelling's gone down remarkably quickly. It's nothing short of a miracle, I'd say. It was a nasty infection, and the hypothermia sure didn't help any."

"Thank you, nurse…" Seraph said condescendingly, as if criticizing the nurse's lack of restraint with her words while in my presence. "I'll be sure to keep him from moving too much."

"Feel free to let him sleep wherever he wants if he doesn't want to stay in this room anymore. I believe we no longer need to observe him closely, but be sure to bring him to us for once daily check-ups."

The Audino was soon to leave. Vulcan, who'd been crouching in the doorway considering his height, stepped in after she'd left.

"Seraph, may I speak with you for a moment outside?"

The Altaria smiled down at me for a moment in assurance before following the Haxorus into the hall. Skipp was left behind, and what ensued was an awkward silence as a result of his lack of conversational skill.

Vulcan waited outside as Seraph came back in the room about a minute later.

"Are you both alright if I step out for a little while? A friend of ours has requested I meet with him privately."

I stared oddly at her for a moment. Who hadn't I met yet? I knew Drayden had a Druddigon in regards to his real team. Was that who she was speaking of, considering I hadn't yet officially met him?

Nevertheless, I nodded in confirmation. Staying alone with Skipp was certainly awkward, but not inconvenient compared to the situation I found myself in as a whole.

Seraph nodded back before sending a small glance towards the Flygon in the room. He made anxious gestures towards me using his eyes, but she simply rolled her own and shrugged him off. With that, she accompanied Vulcan down the hallway and out of sight.

As expected, a while passed with no conversation whatsoever. Skipp opened his mouth multiple times in attempts to start something, but in the end always resigned to staying silent. However, after maybe fifteen minutes, he began quietly.

"You knew Ray, didn't you?" he asked tentatively.

"A little," I responded, surprised he'd chosen to start talking with such an introduction I began following the dragon with my eyes as he rose and began pacing around the room irritably.

"Nox, I want you to be honest with me… I-I don't know if this all has a happy ending or not, but Ray, wherever he may be, dead or alive, is in danger. Do you know where he is?"

I shook my head. I tried making myself seem as nonchalant as possible as my heart rate rose.

"The humans are panicking. New information about Ray is coming out everyday, and people are too blinded to look at him as a person. As long as he's out there, he's vulnerable to whoever wants to come by and attack him… We only want to help him."

Trying to act clueless, I asked for clarification. "Why are so many people after him?"

Skipp guiltily sighed. "People think he did something really bad, but we were able to figure out it wasn't true when we found you guys. It was Mew."

"Mew? What'd she do?" I tilted my head in question. I already knew the end to this story, but I continued acting clueless nonetheless.

"I think I've said enough for right now… Are you sure you and your team have no idea where he is? I know you guys are all trying to protect your trainer. I would want to do the exact same thing. But as long as we can't find him, there's a chance he might not come out of this okay. If you know anything, please…"

For the slightest moment, I felt a compulsion to reveal myself. I shot the proposal down almost instantly, however. Such an act was out of the question."

"I'm sorry. Mew's probably the only one that knows. I can probably ask her, if you want."

My answer seemed to trouble Skipp. "N-no, it's okay. We already have a friend that's gonna ask Mew a few questions once she, uh… Cools down a little bit."

"Have I met him before?"

"Who?"

"The friend."

"O-oh… No, probably not. Uhh, Vicus doesn't know a lot of 'mon."

He tried his best to change the subject.

"So, uhh… Can you do me a favor? Just… Please try not to bring Mew up with anyone except us. We don't want people freaking out about… Well, her."

"So… You're just letting Ray take the blame?"

"N-no! Well, uh… Kinda. I mean, you said it yourself. Him and Mew knew each other. Of course, we're not gonna tell anyone that, but we haven't said anything about Ray to the public, either."

"Then how do they know?"

Skipp sighed. He'd entangled himself yet again in a place where he couldn't simply make himself refuse my curious inquiries. The Flygon wasn't the best keeper of lies and secrets. "Information was leaked about where he was. Once people figured out an eight badge trainer was in the same spot at the exact same time, well… They came to conclusions pretty quickly."

I nearly was sick with that statement alone. Was the Flygon telling the truth? There was no way anyone would think that if they had the full story.

"More and more bad stuff is coming out about him every day. I mean… I fought his team myself, and Drayden told me all about what he did when Somin was injured… There's no way I think he's a bad kid, but at this point, we're really just trying to find him before the public. Keep him safe and prove his innocence."

I froze. So, they hadn't been out to capture me for the sake of justice. I put it at the back of my mind, to think about later.

Out of pure curiosity, I asked, "Where are they getting all the information about him?"

"Apparently, he was a trainer for almost seven years before you were born. He… He had a few enemies."

"I want to see."

"E-excuse me?"

"I want to see what they're saying about him."

"A-are you sure?"

I nodded my head in confirmation. Skipp was right when he said I'd made a few enemies. I'd done bad things, of course, and would want to know if any of those stories came to light.

Skipp sighed, obviously unhappy with the proposal. "T-that's probably not a good idea. If you knew Ray, well… I can only imagine how upsetting some of the stuff is."

"Skipp, please."

"P-probably not, Nox. Just think, there's a lot of other cool stuff to do, right?"

I sighed, getting nowhere with his change of conversation. "Like what?" I asked, molding back into playing the part of the Zorua.

"Well, umm. You like games, don't you? I-I guess you can't really run and play right now, but w-we can make one to play."

I instinctively tried shrugging before realizing I couldn't. Instead, I answered with a simple, "I dunno."

A thought occurred to me just then, however, as I'd let the words leave my mouth. Before Skipp could respond, I asked a question.

"Actually, can I see my friends? I want to make sure they're all okay."

The Flygon froze for a moment as his stutter returned. It was obviously he'd become uncomfortable yet again.

"W-Well, didn't y-you talk to Vita yesterday? She told you the rest of Ray's team was doing okay, r-right?"

"I mean, I still kinda miss them… Why can't I stay with them?"

I tried plastering on an innocent face to try and pressure the Flygon. It was obvious he wasn't the best under pressure, and if I could potentially use any personality to my advantage, it would be his.

I thought myself odd for thinking in such a manner. Exploiting a certain kindness I would appreciate in any other situation seemed plain wrong. But, in the end, I supposed the ends justified the means. While it didn't sit with me well, I had to try.

The door opened right then without warning, prompting a sigh of relief from Skipp. On the other side happened to be the last member of Drayden's team, to whom I hadn't been introduced. He seemed miffed, the catalyst of such an emotion was easily visible as well.

"Let me go you gigantic piece of s-"

"Skipp, if I gotta stay with this brat for two more goddamn seconds, it ain't gonna be pretty."

Drayden's Druddigon was holding Misa's entire head in a single claw, letting the rest of her body dangle below her. She was writhing every which way in attempts to escape.

"O-Okay… Well, I, uhh… Seraph and Vulcan are gone right now, but I can take her. Just please put her down, I don't think that's really safe."

Wordless, the Druddigon tossed the tiny dragon onto the floor and turned around for a moment before looking back. His eyes met with mine for a few, agonizing moments. He rolled them afterwards and left, muttering some obscenity under his breath.

He shut the door without even giving the Flygon so much as a bit of gratitude for taking over Misa's care.

I turned towards Skipp, wordless, as he helped Misa to her feet. I quietly sighed for what was to come.

"This sucks! If you're gonna keep me here, then at least give me something to do!"

"Well, umm… We could play a game if you want."

"Screw that! I was up on that mountain to train! I wanna fight something!"

She seemed to notice me laying on the bed right then and made a sarcastic movement of rolling her eyes.

"At least don't make me stay with the little kid all the time!"

I looked away, scowling bitterly. I hardly wanted to start a petty argument right then, however. I wasn't in the best of moods, but I felt my mind too concentrated on what Skipp had told me regarding my public image to give the Axew much mind.

"Well, we can do both… Play a game and train, if you want to."

She sent the Flygon an odd look.

Skipp, after a bit of persuasion, eventually succeeded in getting Misa on board with his game. Misa hardly saw it as such; she got progressively more and more frustrated as time went on.

The object was to hit the opponent with your tail before they could hit you with theirs. A relatively simple concept, but Skipp obviously had the advantage. He was, after all, gargantuan compared to the Axew. His tail was longer than her entire body.

After quite some time passed, he'd finally gone easy enough on her in order for her to win a round. Exhausted afterwards, proclaimed victory, and sat down to rest at the end of the bed.

"People like Druddigon say it's so hard to keep them entertained," Skipp remarked to me in a sideways comment after returning to my bedside. "But it's really as simple as keeping them busy long enough for them to be tired."

I simply gave a quiet grunt of affirmation. Smart concept, but hearing the Axew yell in frustration nearly every time she lost was hardly a peaceful way to spend my time.

"You didn't look like you wanted to play…"

"I can't really get up and start running around, can I?"

"No, but I thought you would be at least a little bit restless. You've hardly moved for almost a week."

Good to know… I guess something like that would help my act, but I just can't start feeling it out of the blue.

So, I decided to give an alternate reason, as I noticed Misa had snoozed off and began snoring just out of sight.

"Thanks for keeping her busy, I guess… Me and her don't like each other very much… That was a part of it."

"No worries," he responded, smiling. "Since she's zonked out now, would you be alright if I went and checked on Seraph? She's been gone for a bit longer than I thought."

"Go ahead…"

"Thanks."

With that, the Flygon slowly backed away, awkwardly smiling before groping for the doorknob behind him. After a few attempts, he succeeded and stepped away.

I let my eyes close frustratedly, finally able to let down my act for a moment. I slowly let a string of quiet curses come to my mouth as I reminisced on how I'd gotten so tangled in such a situation.

"Hey pipsqueak, don't think I forgot about you."

Oh no…

I let my eyes narrow as the Axew stood from where she lay, apparently not as exhausted as she previously seemed. In a single leap, she hopped onto the lower bed and sat cross-legged in front of where I lay.

"So."

"So…?"

"You never told me what a Somin was."

Figuring a calm approach to the conversation ahead would work better, I decided to go for a cooler introduction. The Axew before me knew my name, and I had no idea whether she'd gone through the effort of telling anyone or not yet.

"We need to talk about something important, Misa."

"Oh wow, way to avoid the question."

"Will you listen for a moment? Please? I'm being serious here."

I thought for a moment. After assuring myself no noise came from behind the closed door with my enhanced hearing, I continued.

"Just… Hear me out," I pleaded, reluctantly subduing myself..

"Spit it out," she spoke after giving me a scrutinizing glance.

"Look, you haven't mentioned me by name, have you?"

"Why shouldn't I? You got all scared about it, sure, but what reason do I got not to call you Ray? A Somin tearing me to shreds? You still haven't told me what that is."

"He's not a thing. He's a Pokémon, and a really strong one."

"Really now? I bet my dad could crush him!"

I let out a low growl. "That's not the point. The point is, I can't let any of the dragons here know I'm named Ray."

"Why not?"

Improvising, I let my tongue take on a mind of its own.

"I'm on a mission," I whispered, all secret-like. If this didn't grab her attention, I wasn't sure what would. "I've gotta infiltrate a place called Opelucid. Have you heard of it?"

"Uhh… I don't know. I may have heard Seraph or Skipp talk about it once or twice.

"It doesn't matter. Point is, if I'm found out, me and my friends are all done for."

For added emphasis, and smiling on the inside, I continued dramatically. "Arceus, I shouldn't be telling you any of this. But know, if my name gets out, they're going to kill all of us."

Misa's eyes widened, nearly prompting me to leap for joy. When her eyes darkened, though, so did my spirits.

"Yeah right. As if they'd trust a secret mission to a pipsqueak. What do you take me for, an absolute idiot?"

Giving up, I couldn't help but take advantage of the situation. "Kinda."

"Yeah, no. I'm telling Seraph."

Alarms went off in my head as she hopped off the bed and raced towards the door. I scooted as fast as I could after her without leaving the bed, yelling all the way.

Out of desperation, I started blurting out words with no thought. "Misa, c'mon! Please… Just- WAIT! Okay okay, please! I'll do anything!"

She froze for a tantalizing moment, now standing within a few feet of the door. She turned around slowly. "Anything, you say?" she said with a growing grin.

"W-wait… What? No, I…"

"Nope! You already said it! No take-backs! I heard you!"

Oh shit… What did I just get myself into?

She placed a hand to her chin in a mock-thinking manner, but it appeared she already had an idea. Smiling devilishly, she stalked back towards the bed and hopped back up.

"From now on, you're my little pipsqueak slave, and you have to do whatever I say. If not, I go to Seraph. Deal?"

I growled at my own stupidity, laying my head on my paws in defeat. In the end, I could find no way around her demands. She had power over me, this much was true.

"Fine, fine," I spat.

"Ma'am."

"Excuse me?" I looked up at her with a stupid expression.

"It's 'fine, ma'am'."

"What?! That's no fair!"

She made a movement as if she was heading back towards the door.

"Okayokayokay…" I shushed, scampering after her in fear. "Ma'am," I let out as quietly as possible.

"What was that? Didn't hear ya there!"

"Ma'am, madam, your majesty, Miss President, just pleeeeeease don't tell her."

"Fine then, all you had to do was ask nicely."

I sighed as the Axew returned to sit back down at the foot of the bed. I groaned once again to myself.

The hell did I get myself into?

* * *

"He's doing okay, I think…"

" **More open?** "

"Yup. I told him the stuff about Ray that you told me to tell him."

" **His reaction?** "

"He was curious, really curious… Wanted to know more about what's going on. I tried telling him enough about Ray to make him really anxious, but… I'm not the best under all that pressure, y'know?"

" **And you would call this behavior odd for a hatchling?** "

"Well, everything about him's weird. I would have to rate it on a scale of weirdness relative to Nox, which, I dunno. I got no clue, honestly. Maybe he's just really curious? Or maybe he really liked Ray, who knows?"

" **Yes. It's easy to tell when someone is lying, but discerning the real truth is something else altogether. I suppose my seeing him wouldn't be the best, as it would almost definitely harm more than it would help.** "

"Probably not… Y-you can be pretty scary, and he's been through a lot."

" **It's best if we don't relent, in that case. Thank you, Skipp, Seraph, for the work you've done and will continue to do.** "

"No problem… Why are we doing all this, though? I get his story's a bit… Off, but…"

The Flygon gulped at the icy, blue-eyed glare he was given.

"B-but… I mean, uhh…"

"Nox is a sweet child," Seraph butted in. "We don't see everything for black and white as you do, Vicus, but-"

" **I understand. However, until I can meet the kit myself for an evaluation, I'm afraid this is what we must settle for. A discrepancy, even one this small, cannot be overlooked. We need to find Alston, further affirm his connection with Mew, and plan. For all we know, this kit is a threat to all of our safety.** "

"And you can't see him now?"

" **I'm afraid a complacent mind is much more simply prodded through than one on-guard. Such is the extent of my ability; I am only able to see that which has been laid before me.** "

Vicus turned and locked eyes with Seraph. The Altaria gulped.

" **Seraph, Skipp… They are yours. When all is said and done, you both can say you not only affected change in the developing lives of these two hatchlings, but helped to mitigate one of the worst tragedies known to this world.** "

* * *

The nurse had detailed earlier there was no more need for me to stay in the hospital room. As long as I was to keep myself from moving, she gave Seraph full permission to place me wherever we wanted.

Seraph and Skipp were quite quick to return after the ordeal with Misa. The Altaria gave the notion of getting 'washed up'. I instinctively correlated that with the human comparison, but what need would the dragons have in washing their hands or freshening themselves up in general?

As it turned out, Seraph and I went alone up to where she'd been staying the last few days.

This was the first I'd seen of the outside of the recovery room, and it wasn't necessarily anything to gawk at. While the interior sported a 'log cabin' feel, it reminded me of every other Pokémon Center I'd ever been in.

"When's the last time you've had a bath?" she poked fun at me as I rode on her back, "You look filthy."

I groaned to myself internally. At least the notion of a bath sat better than the memories of Vita's licking me clean. I shivered with the thought.

Seraph must have taken that shiver as indecision, seeing as she continued with, "Never, I take it? Well, I certainly didn't see any tubs on top of that mountain. It must have been hard for you living up there, no?"

"Umm… Kinda?"

"Well, after you see what it's like to live in civilization, I'm sure you'll enjoy it much, much more."

I let my head lay in defeat.

"Drayden went and had this area of town entirely vacated for privacy. Since there's a lot of empty space, he went ahead and gave us our own rooms. Even so, we hardly split up anyways. Vulcan prefers to stay with Drayden, while Skipp and I enjoy each other's company."

By the time she'd finished her explanation, we'd arrived at a door, behind which I imagined Seraph's room lay. It was previously unlocked, so she simply turned the handle and allowed herself in, shutting the door behind both of us.

It was a room like any other, and certainly not unlike the one I stayed in during my short time in Opelucid.

The bathroom was adjacent to the main entrance. She entered and began drawing water, talking all the while about life before I'd woken up. I found myself engrossed yet again with what Skipp had let slip earlier regarding me, and nearly completely ignored the amicable Altaria.

Maybe a minute and a half passed before she asked me if I was ready. Nodding my head, I allowed her to lift me off her back and begin the slow descent into the water.

I cringed initially upon feeling the bath water rush over my paws, only to feel the sensation worsen as time progressed. The other times I'd been in water while in his body were both times of panic, but now, I had the chance to figure how it felt. The way it tugged on my fur, making me heavier, felt uncomfortable. I subconsciously looked to Seraph for reassurance.

"Nox, are you feeling alright?" she asked, slowly pulling away. My leg felt perfectly fine when I was standing alone, but I had my mind on much else. I noticed I was shaking visibly.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine… I just… I'm okay."

"Oh Arceus, I can't believe I forgot," she reprimanded herself, "are you okay with this? I made sure the water's only neck-deep, but if you don't want t-"

"I'm alright," I said shakily, trying to stabilize myself. Of all the phobias I could've developed, did water have to be one of them?

I steadied myself before looking up at her with all the indifference I could muster.

"You're doing amazing, nonetheless," she encouraged tentatively. "I've never seen a hatchling so well behaved in the water, especially ones with bad experiences."

Why was I here again? A bath?

Sighing, I figured the entire experience would be useless if I were to leave only half-clean. Begrudgingly, I quickly crouched, dunking my entire head under the water.

I was up, above the surface in less than a second, comfortable under the water for no longer. I slightly scowled as the tuft of fur atop my head, now wet, fell over my right eye.

Seraph seemed amused enough by my feeble attempts to bat it away with a paw while retaining my balance. Eventually, she moved it for me, flopping it to lay on the backside of my head.

"Let's get you cleaned up."

* * *

If I was being honest myself, I found it quite funny when I sprayed the Altaria with water as I shook myself off. Having gotten out of the tub, I received the notion from an unknown part of my mind, too pleasant not to indulge.

After softly reprimanding me, she started laughing as well. I never thought about the incident after that, classifying it as trivial.

Despite having hardly any leverage or grip, she did surprisingly well in thoroughly drying my with a towel.

I was faintly aware afterwards of my being picked up from within the towel, not knowing where I was until I peeked my head out. Seraph had carried me onto one of the two beds in the room, judging I was dry enough to do so.

Taking a look at my paw made me cringe. Wet, matted fur made me look twice as thin. It wasn't long before I started ignoring Seraph fuss about my weight. Perhaps, now that I got a good look at myself, I was malnourished.

If anything, though, my diet while in Twist had allowed my appetite to decrease immensely. Oddly, despite not having so much as a small meal earlier, I still felt myself as quite full.

"Nox, how are you feeling right now?"

I grunted lightly in indecision. The question threw me off guard, however, and after a second I sent the dragon a questioning look,

"You've been thinking a lot lately, no?"

"Well, kinda… We all got captured, and it's been a bunch to think about I guess."

"Captured, is that how you see this?"

After giving it some thought, I nodded my head.

"This isn't a prison, dear… You're all lucky we came. If not, you, Misa, and your Durant friend would all be very hurt right now."

"I don't get to see them, though… My friends."

"Oh, well, I'm sure you'll be allowed to see them occasionally… I hope you understand, but this is only temporary, I promise."

"It just feels lonely without them."

Seraph sighed, staring away guiltily for a few moments.

"For what it's worth… I'll be your friend, if you want to. Until Drayden says you're allowed to see all of them, we can play, and have fun, just like you did with them. I promise, Skipp and I will make you feel right at home until this entire mess gets sorted out. Does that sound okay?"

I nodded solemnly, getting nowhere with the conversation.

"It's getting late, and you must be hungry, no?" she then said, looking out a window on the far side of the room. "I can go get our food and we can go to sleep, I suppose."

"Oh, I just… Am I not going back to the hospital bed?"

"That dingy little room? You and Misa can stay with Skipp and I, if you'd like. Beats sleeping alone, does it not?"

I looked upon the offer with skepticism at first. I knew it would be rude to refuse, though. Making friends, even if for personal gain, was probably the best way to get through this whole mess.

So I simply nodded my head, accepting her invitation.

"Misa too?" I asked in hindsight, grimacing at the thought of sharing a room with the Axew.

Seraph sighed lightheartedly. "Nox, you two should really try to get along. I know you've had a bad start, but we can't help the fact you'll be seeing her a lot more from here on out. I know you're mature, perhaps even more so than her. Be the one to show her kindness first, and who knows? She may just start warming up to you."

I huffed unhappily.

"Plus," the Altaria encouraged, "I think she's all bark and no bite. I'm sure you can manage."

"She's just so… Frustrating."

"Just as she most likely sees you. My point of view is that there's going to be a never-ending cycle of contempt between you two. It's going to take some initiative to break it. I'm not saying you should outright go and ask to be her friend. Just… Start by doing nice things."

… This isn't what I should be worrying about right now… She knows my name. If she lets it slip once, I'm done for.

"Thanks, Seraph," I replied meaninglessly. "I'll… Keep that in mind."

"Excellent," she cooed. "Now, I'll be right back in with our meals, until then, have you heard of a television?"

I nodded my head.

"Fantastic. I can turn on something nice for you to watch for a few minutes. Are you alright on your own?"

I nodded again, feeling indifferent.

Smiling, Seraph pushed a few buttons on the bedside remote and turned on a station, some educational series about Pokémon in general, obviously targeted towards younger audiences. The host was speaking about type advantages.

Seraph ran her wing over me comfortingly before stepping out of the room. I sighed as she left, relieved I was given respite, even if for just a few minutes.

My first instinct was to rise and get within range of the remote, careful of my leg. I was happy to note hardly any pain on the condition I kept my weight off it. I flipped through channels as fast as I possibly could before finding what I wanted.

"-a Pokémon trainer previously confirmed to be a traveling companion of Ray Alston for quite some time."

If Skipp said the general public knew some nasty things about me, the news would be the first place to affirm his statements.

"Over the last week, increasing controversy against the recent eight-badge trainer has come to light. Alston has become the unofficial prime suspect in the activation of the infamous 'Chimney Bomb'."

I was already getting irritated. Skipp had told me about the suspicion targeted against me, but hearing it for myself struck a chord.

"The bombing, reportedly responsible for the confirmed deaths of twenty-six humans and over two hundred Pokémon, has been placed in infamy as one the worst terrorist attacks in known history."

They failed to include the fact all those people and Pokémon were trying to kill me.

"Since the leak of Ray Alston's name from an informant of the Lavaridge Police Department, a hidden paper trail has slowly been uncovered, tracking his movements in the city prior to the attack. New information is being uncovered each day on this, the UNN."

I narrowed my eyes, anxiously anticipating what was to come. A transition led to the image of yet another female reporter.

"Despite the Unovan Gym Leaders' consistent testimonies pointing to Ray's innocence, one must ask the question. Is the eight badge trainer all they say he is? The Pokémon League, feeling opposity of their representatives, have decided to confiscate the Pokémon of Skyla, on grounds of having a blood relationship with the trainer."

They took Skyla's Pokémon?! What did she do wrong?

I'd completely forgotten about my aunt's presence in my team's capture. Was she still here, in Timberline?

"Meanwhile, however, three other Gym Leaders from across the region have spoken out in Alston's favor, including Clay, Brycen, and Elesa. We expect to receive Drayden's official opinion within a few days, following his most recent mission to retrieve Alston from a suspected location in the Twist Mountain Range."

Clay I'd probably expect… Hell, he probably knows me more than anyone. I spent so long on his stupid Gym, but Elesa and Brycen? I'm surprised Elesa remembers me, and Brycen and I were hardly friendly. They really would speak out to help me?

"Tonight, new evidence may be uncovered with the story of Zachary Kingston, proven to have a long relationship with Alston."

I shook my head rapidly, making absolute sure I'd heard the name correctly.

The vision in the screen shifted from a transition animation to a woman sitting in a chair. Her mocha-colored skin complemented black hair, cut just above the shoulders.

"Zachary," she began. "Thank you for being here tonight."

The shot switched perspective, and I got a full view of one of my least favorite people on earth.

"Thank you, I'm glad to be here."

* * *

 _Ray, engrossed in dark thoughts he'd harbored for months, walked aimlessly down the trail to Lacunosa._

 _He'd been unable to get the images, the gore, out of his head. How long had it been since the incident? A month, maybe two or three? It felt like an eternity._

 _He missed her more and more, every single day. The fact he'd been indirectly responsible only led to a heightened sense of guilt which he felt was impossible to mitigate. Even at such a young age, he considered the possibility of disappearing, or maybe even erasing himself from the world entirely._

 _Yet, despite the emotional struggle the team was going through, his four Pokémon gave him hope, however small, for the future._

 _He'd decided that the best way to move on would be to continue on his journey for the seventh badge. He'd hoped and prayed by continuing, he'd slowly come to terms with the situation and allow himself to heal._

 _That didn't stop the nightmares. Despite his best efforts, no excuse could redirect the unbearable guilt. His rash decision had led to her death. He was the catalyst._

 _It most definitely didn't stop the pink lady from following him, wherever he went, whispering encouraging words in his ear when he was feeling the most down. He was going insane. The hallucination had been relentless, ever since his escape that night._

 _He, as opposed to the time before the Undella vacation and the subsequent happening in Black City, left his team out of their Pokéballs one-hundred percent of the time. He got an odd sense of foreboding whenever they weren't around, and he enjoyed the prospect of extra protection. He checked quite often to make sure their empty balls were situated on his belt. Never again would he leave them alone long enough to be stolen._

 _His Servine, walking near him with her head low, seemed to hear an indiscernible sound in the distance. Perking her head up, she tugged at Ray's pant leg with a vine._

 _"What's up, Vita?" Ray asked, swinging his head around._

 _"Ser, vine…"_

 _Her body language prompted Ray to ask the question, "You hear something?"_

 _This got the attention of the group, including the Zorua and Marshtomp that were walking alongside their trainer, as well as the Rufflet that was perched on his shoulder._

 _When Vita nodded, Ray questioned her further, asking from where she heard it. The Servine proceeded to, after wrapping a vine around his arm, lead him forward at an incredibly pace._

 _Ray could hardly keep up in a sprint, despite how stubby the grass type's legs were. Jet, while on his shoulder, had trouble staying on._

 _Eventually, Vita took a hard left, leading straight into the trees. Maybe after ten seconds in that direction, she stopped dead, nearly making Ray trip over her._

 _Now that they had stopped making such a commotion, Ray was able to hear the sounds of battle. Vita beckoned him forward, so he did, peering over a hedge and into a clearing._

 _A boy, maybe a few years older than him, was currently in the process of critiquing his six Pokémon as they were sparring one another in three separate pairs. Ray recognized, in the boy's arsenal, a Darumaka, a Simisage, a Blitzle, a Roggenrola, an Archen, and a Dewott._

 _"It's just a trainer," Ray told the Servine, grabbing one of her vines as he left. He only yanked it, though, considering she didn't budge. He turned around to see what was keeping her._

 _She seemed infatuated with something, her eyes wide in curiosity. As if to test it, Ray waved his hand back and forth in front of her face. Her gaze did not break._

 _Ray, defeated, turned to find whether or not Somin and Axle were following. The Zorua, as he observed them from a distance, would have been able to keep up just fine. The Marshtomp, however, was clumsy, awkwardly running to them with two legs._

 _Sighing, Ray turned back around to find another figure having had appeared out of thin air._

 _"Arc?"_

 _Ray jumped back in surprise, heart sent racing. The Archen, the one he'd seen only a few seconds before in battle, was staring up at him in curiosity._

 _He tried quieting the Archen with a gesture, but slowly looked upward as a long shadow extended over him._

 _"Umm… Hi?"_

 _"Who are you supposed to be?" the older boy asked, standing on the other side of the hedge. Ray stood and dusted himself off._

 _"I'm… Ray," he spoke tentatively._

 _The other trainer only nodded in understanding, eyeing Ray apprehensively for what he'd inferred as the younger boy's stalking him. His facial expression remained neutral._

 _"Zach."_

 _The two boys started in feeble conversation while Vita was quick to single out the boy's Dewott and begin speaking to it excitedly._

 _The humans told each other about their destinations, and the boy, Zach, was quite surprised Ray already had a sum of six badges to his four._

 _It started out as their both going to the same destination, walking as they talked, but it soon morphed into a very weak friendship. Ray found himself often annoyed with Zach's attitude, simply dripping with pride._

 _Despite the qualms between the trainers, the Pokémon, with the exception of Somin, hit it off rather well. They all found friends rather quickly, including the normally reclusive Jet with the Archen._

 _Vita, along the way, kept swooning over the Dewott like some idol. Ever since the incident, she was nearly as broken up inside as Ray was. For maybe the first month or two, she clung to him nonstop. Now, though, Ray observed her behavior as that of a weak, lost creature. He simply supposed she took a liking to the Dewott because of the strength he displayed as Zach's strongest fighter._

 _To say Somin was jealous would be an understatement. Of course, he only ever shared his sentiments with Ray, regularly ranting on about the Dewott's cocky attitude._

 _Eventually, Ray and Zach were officially 'traveling partners', often fighting one another as rivals. Even when Zach used his full team of six against Ray's four, his wins were few and far between._

 _Eventually, the duo made it to Opelucid. Every emotion, whether Vita's clinginess, Somin's rage, or Ray's annoyance, was by then amplified twofold._

 _Ray began resenting the other human, as he had often intruded on private conversations or emotional moments. More than once, Zach had heard Ray mention 'the pink lady', who had kept appearing during his travels._

 _Zach, as evidenced by his demeanor towards Ray, found himself unable to see the younger boy as a mentally stable person. Whenever he brought up Ray's family in casual conversation, or asked about what happened that had made him so upset, it sent the younger trainer into a sour mood that usually took hours, or even a day, to rise out of._

 _Zach needed to find an excuse to get away from his companion. Ray was starting to grate on his nerves, anyways, with all the wins he racked up against his team._

 _He soon found his excuse._

 _They were maybe thirty miles outside of Icirrus, and had long since set up camp next to the trail. Zach had returned all but his Dewott to their balls, the water type nowhere to be found. Ray's entire team was dispersed, going about their own business accordingly. He always was nervous when faced with returning them._

 _No conversation went on around the fire the two boys found themselves on opposite sides of. Zach was eyeing Ray carefully as the younger trainer stared into the fire, almost as if he could see something. His odd behavior sent a shiver down Zach's spine._

 _He had been thinking about the possibility of ditching the kid altogether. He'd been making a plan to slip away in the night for quite a while, and finally resolved to do so when both trainers would settle down for the night._

 _Less than a quarter mile away, though, Somin was unleashing his growing anger in the form of night hunting. He always loved the sense of power the moon gave him, and thrived in the darkness._

 _Minutes passed with nothing happening. He thought he would perhaps move to a different tree. This part of the forest seemed abandoned._

 _He hopped down from his post, landing on the ground with a grunt. He imagined how much easier that landing would be if he were a Zoroark. He had started worrying about the probability of his evolution. He thought, with the undying amount of effort he'd put in over the last three years, was looking forward to his evolution any day now._

 _He was glad, if only for a short time, he could alleviate himself of the stress of traveling with the other human and his team. He'd had a hard enough time warming up to Ray, and even then, this was the first traveling partner he'd ever had. Humans hardly ever found themselves the recipient of his affection._

 _He crept through the tall grass, hoping to find some hint of life he could smother. He most certainly didn't appreciate the lack of vitality the forest held. He hadn't even seen so much as a Patrat that night._

 _After maybe a minute or two of aimless wandering, he was wrenched from his thoughts with the sound of rapid movement, somewhere far off. Smirking, he left his thoughts behind and pursued the disturbance._

 _By the time he stopped to wait for the being to cross his path, he could see the campfire his trainer had put up. He imagined how effortlessly he would earn the kill, and be able to eat it by the fire. It wasn't exactly cold out, the month being May, but the night still brought a chill._

 _The creature was coming closer, as if running. He heard heavy, panicked breaths. He figured, from his position, he would not be able to spy the creature as it ran by. He would have to simply settle for relying on sound alone._

 _He counted down the seconds as the sounds of his desperately sprinting prey grew closer. He didn't bother to ponder what it may have been running from._

 _Wiggling his haunches as the creature crossed directly in front of him, he sprang, knocking his prey off its path._

 _They rolled together for a few moments, Somin eventually landing on top. In one swift motion, he reached down to dispatch it with a single bite to the neck._

 _He froze before chomping down, though, eyes widening in horror as he found his 'prey' to be an incredibly upset Servine._

 _"Oh Arceus, Vita!" he yelled, disentangling himself from the Servine as quickly as he could manage, "I didn't know it was you! I'm so so so so sor-"_

 _His words were cut off as he got just about the tightest embrace he'd ever received from his companion. She proceeded to openly bawl into his shoulder without warning._

 _He reeled back, unsure of how to react to her sudden embrace. Instantly, his mind snapped to the suspicion she had done something wrong, and was trying to find consolation. His muscles instinctively stiffened, leaving him in a forcibly rigid position._

 _He raised a paw from the ground to pat her back reassuringly, unsure as to whether or not he should attempt comforting the grass type any further. Maybe he would just let her ride out her emotions before asking for an explanation._

 _"I-It's okay," he tried soothing, sending a confused stare at no object in particular. Eventually, though, his gaze started to wander._

 _What he found about the Servine reassured him little. Taking inventory of her normally verdant body, he panicked as he found multiple, red gashes, sporadically placed. Many were still bleeding, lightly bathing his fur in his friend's blood._

 _He hardly had the time to register the damage taken before he heard a rustling in the underbrush ahead. He was instantly set on high alert._

 _"Get behind me," the Zorua told Vita as it grew nearer. Vita promptly loosened her hold as she complied, rotating around her protector. Not once did she let go of the dark type._

 _"Viiiiiita," an all-too-familiar voice sounded, boiling Somin's blood. "Where aaaaaare yoooou?"_

 _He started growling involuntarily, psyching himself up for what was to come._

 _"Oh, come on, Viiiita, we barely even started, and now, you're already done? You just felt so daaaamn good."_

 _In that instant, confirmed by Vita's muffled sobs, Somin pieced together what had happened._

 _"Can't ya just gimme a bit more?" the male voice slurred. "Hell, I'll go even harder, just for y-"_

 _The Dewott stepped into the clearing just then, a lustful expression plastered all over his face. He became sober, however, when he perceived Somin before him._

 _"Oh, it's you…"_

 _"You dirty bastard," the Zorua replied, instinctively getting into a battle stance._

 _"You snooze you lose, buddy. Jealousy doesn't really suit you. If you step away from my mate, though, all quiet-like, I might let you have a little piece. You'd like that, wouldn't you?"_

 _Vita squealed in fear, compressing herself into a little ball. Somin gave her a glance, resentment for the Dewott burning in his eyes._

 _"You're never touching her again. Do you hear me?" he burst, whipping his snout towards the water type, "We're all leaving, tonight, and I swear, if I ever see your sorry face again, I'll tear your eyes out."_

 _"Oh, come on. If you're gonna threaten me, at least make it sound somewhat intimidating… Do you seriously think you can keep her from me? Either way, she wants me. She's wanted me since the first time she saw me."_

 _The Dewott started pacing in a circle around the pair, lackadaisical in tone and in behavior._

 _"I've seen 'mon like you before. Envious, not wanting to accept the fact she's my mate, not yours. You really like her though, huh? Pity she doesn't feel the same."_

 _He stopped to stare Somin straight in the eyes. "She's mine. So hand her over."_

 _Somin stood his ground, strengthening his aggressive growl. He pushed Vita away ever so slightly, hoping she knew to run if the situation turned sour._

 _"She trusted you. Do you understand what she's been through over the last six months? Do you have any idea how special her trust is, especially now?! She gave it to you, one of the kindest things she could possibly do, and you spat on it!"_

 _"What are ya talking about?" the Dewott responded, giving a condescending chuckle. "She trusted me, so I rewarded her by showing her a good time. Isn't that right, slut?"_

 _Somin didn't even gauge Vita's reaction in his blind rage at the insult._

 _"Take it back!" he snarled, seeing red. "Take. It. Back."_

 _"You're really scary, you know that?" the Dewott blew him off, unsheathing his razor-sharp dual seashells. They gleamed under the moonlight seeping through the treetops._

 _Somin began preparing as well, charging his illusionary power._

 _"The only reason I haven't cut you to tiny bits in our battles is because Zach told me not to," the water type gloated. "Now, though… You're getting me pretty pissed off."_

 _"I'd like to see you try to take her from me again," Somin spat._

 _"Ooh," the Dewott laughed, "you really are obsessed with her, aren't you? Hear that, Vita? Lover boy's got a thing for you! We can't have that, can we?"_

 _"Quit talking to her!" Somin lashed back, crouching even lower. "It doesn't matter how I feel for her. There's hell to pay if you're going to lay another claw on her."_

 _"More empty threats. Why not attack, little Zorua? If you're so confident you'll win, why not do it now? It's because you're weak. Too weak to back up your big talk, too weak to evolve, and definitely too weak to put that slut in her place like a male."_

 _"What did I say about calling her that?!"_

 _"Your words mean nothing," he heckled. "Hell, I'll even let you take the first shot."_

 _Somin stayed steadfast. He knew his own skillset, and knew he would most likely lose if he went on the offensive. He would have to bait the Dewott into attacking first._

 _Turns out, he didn't need to._

 _"No? Might as well, then…"_

 _Without warning, the otter lunged forward, prompting Vita to scream and fall backwards in terror. The Dewott, a cocky smirk on his face, cut straight through the Zorua._

 _The illusion of the fox disappeared immediately._

 _"You cowardly little shit," the evolved Pokémon spoke, looking around. He saw Vita, on the ground, and smirked at her, demeanor changing entirely in an instant. "Don't worry my little toy. I'll finish this up before you know it, and we can get back to busin-"_

 _Somin himself, seemingly appearing from nothing, struck the Dewott down. He disappeared again into the night, but not before his target lashed out with a shell, slicing the skin on the dark type's right flank._

 _The water type was quick to get back up, instantly surveying his surroundings. The night proved unnaturally quiet, the only sounds permeating his conversations being Vita's terrified hiccups._

 _He thought he saw a flicker of movement in the corner of his left eye, instantaneously slashing at it with all his might._

 _A yelp was heard as another, larger cut took shape along the entirety of Somin's muzzle. He fell onto the ground, unable to escape as the Dewott leaped forward to straddle him._

 _Somin used Dark Pulse, firing it directly into the water type from the range he kept short. As a result, he was knocked back far enough as to allow for the Zorua's scrambling to his feet._

 _Yelling, the Dewott lunged again as Somin dodged right. He chomped his jaw hard around the Dewott's arm, punishment for the extra forward momentum the evolved Pokémon hadn't compensated for._

 _However, the Dewott retaliated with a Razor Shell straight to the muzzle once again. Somin reeled back as the water type jumped on him once again._

 _Yet another illusionary copy vanished from sight as the Dewott made contact with it. Before he could do so much as recover, the Zorua had knocked him to the ground. He dug his claws into the Dewott's injured arm before the Pokémon could get back to its feet. Noticing the planned counterattack with its other arm, he placed an unsheathed claw to the creature's neck. He was pinned._

 _The Zorua was now seemingly towering over the Dewott. As the smaller Pokémon stared into the otter's eyes, he could feel his own rage grow even further._

 _Vita noticed her companion's eyes begin to glow an intense purple, quick to take on the visage of fire, shifting about violently with no predetermined pattern. The Dewott froze finally, no longer harboring any desire for resistance._

 _Somin began to feel an incredible surge of power with the combined effects of rage and the moon above. No illusion, no matter how daunting, would phase him._

 _A Scald straight to the face interrupted Somin's building rage. He yipped as he stumbled backwards, the searing water stuck in his eyes._

 _Now blinded, the Zorua randomly shot off another Dark Pulse to keep a radius of protection about him. He forced himself to open his eyes, however painful an act to complete. He quickly reconnected his energy to the Dewott and fed him a set of false images as he sat still and recovered._

 _Seemingly out of nowhere, however, he felt the faintest trace of a connection made between him and another, unseen force. He'd been struggling to wipe at his face with a paw, but he no longer felt the need._

 _The mysterious connection began feeding him energy. A light, bubbly, unfamiliar sort of energy. He could feel his spirit floating and swimming happily within the newfound power to flood his system._

 _At first, he thought it was the sensation of evolution. Evolution was most likely to happen during a time of great emotion, and this was certainly one of those. However, his body did not alight. His form did not begin shifting. The power was being fed to him by an outside, unseen force._

 _Somin entertained for a few moments how he would use this new power, as his eyes now felt as if there hadn't been so much as a single attack thrown at them. Testing the waters, he funneled raw energy into the opponent's body. As his eyes adjusted and he saw its effect, he smirked. The Zorua hadn't even known he could do so much as freeze his opponent by overloading their system with volatile energy. Never before, however, had he had this sort of power in order to complete the job._

 _Next, though, he tried something he was only able to accomplish once in the past, the energy required almost always too insurmountable._

 _He would wait, though. It was much easier to amplify pain than it was to conjure it out of the blue._

 _He got an idea, and reveling in the fear the Dewott now displayed, picked up the shell he'd dropped with his mouth._

 _The Dewott begged, pleaded, saying he would never bother the two of them again. That didn't stop Somin from taking the shell, eyes now glowing with a devilish pink, pressing it against the Dewott's stomach, and…_

 _Vita looked away. Somin hadn't given the Dewott a fatal wound, but by the time Ray and Zach found the small congregation of Pokémon, drawn by agonized screams, there were multiple large gashes along the Dewott's body, accentuated by the horrid mangling of his right eye._

 _Somin was on top of the water type, staring into its only-functioning eye with fire._

 _Ray and Zach were just as surprised, the latter sent into an instant panic shortly thereafter._

 _"Return him! Return him! Call him off!"_

 _"Somin, cut it out! What's wrong with you?!"_

 _The Zorua turned towards Ray, eyes still glowing. The human froze._

 _"T-t.. What? Zach, I don't kno-"_

 _"That's bullshit!"_

 _Zach turned to Ray, rage in his eyes. He couldn't simply just return his Dewott, either, his Pokéballs were back at camp._

 _So, the human, acting in rage, leapt forwards and kicked the Zorua as hard as he could. Somin flew off the Dewott, tumbling to a halt a few feet away._

 _He got up after the blow, eyes still ablaze. It was if he didn't feel any pain whatsoever from the contact. Zach, instead of tending to his Pokémon, sprinted towards the Zorua to deal another attack._

 _Ray was on his heels, leaping forward to tackle the trainer to the ground before he could reach the Zorua and cause more damage._

 _Everything was pandemonium. The Dewott had long since passed out in pain, Vita was curled into a ball and crying, and Somin stumbled, the fire in his gaze slowly disappearing. As it got less intense, he slumped to the ground._

 _Zach had no trouble in getting Ray off of him with a well-timed punch to the nose. He was quick to get back up and continue with what he'd originally intended._

 _Somin's unconsciousness didn't stop Zach from kicking the Pokémon again and again, giving the Zorua blow after blow. Vita took notice, screaming and crying, unable to make the human stop._

 _As for Ray, after getting back up without grabbing Zach's attention, he grabbed the walking stick he'd brought as a precaution, raised it high above his head, and brought it down hard on top of the older boy's cranium. Grunting, he fell to the floor on top of Somin._

 _Panting, Ray dealt another hard blow in the exact same spot, making absolute certain he would remain unconscious. Blood was now steadily oozing from the wound._

 _Given no time to think, Ray rolled the unconscious human off of his Pokémon and held him steadily._

 _After making sure Vita was following him, Ray raced back to the campsite, recalled the pair, as well as Axle and Jet, who had thankfully returned by then, back into their Pokéballs. He wasted no time in quickly packing his things and running away, not even bothering to check to make sure Zach and his Dewott were okay._

 _He ran the entire night, seven or eight hours in total, until he made it to Icirrus' outskirts. He doubled his efforts to make it to a Pokémon Center._

 _He entered the closest one, gasping for breath. He rapidly explained his Zorua had been badly hurt, pleading with the nurse on duty to help him. At the early time it was, the nurse was obviously flustered, but accepted Somin's Pokéball nonetheless._

 _As she took him behind the counter, Ray, with the room key he was given, stumbled down the hall, exhausted._

 _Once in the privacy of the bedroom, he slammed the door behind him, leaning his back against the wood. He slowly sunk to the ground, soon finding himself sitting, still struggling to regain his breath. He was perfectly content with falling asleep as he was._

 _He turned his head to stare at a clock on the far wall, reading 4:30 AM. Sighing, he released the three Pokemon he still had in his possession._

 _While telling the story to the confused Rufflet and Marshtomp, he noticed Vita's shaky and heavy breathing. It took him a moment to find multiple cuts, some larger than others, lacerating her entire body. Judging by the emotional and physical state of the Servine, it didn't take Ray long to infer what had set Somin off._

 _Sighing and grunting with the effort placed on his exhausted body, he leaned forward to give her a closer look. She shied away from his touch._

 _The Servine was an overall mess. Her ride in the Pokéball did little to make her look refreshed. He resolved to find out what happened when Somin was present to tell him. The only conclusion he could form was that she was attacked, most likely by the Dewott he'd so badly injured._

 _Ray silently commanded Axle and Jet to go about their own business as he grabbed one of Vita's arms lightly._

 _"Come on," he said, holding her hand as he gently lead her into the bathroom. Despondent, she let herself be dragged along. He had to crouch down as he walked to keep a hold of her arm, prompting his muscles to scream at him in protest._

 _He shut the door, locking it behind him. He quickly drew a hot bath, receiving no complaint as he picked Vita up under the arms and placed her inside._

 _He took his time in washing off the blood and other various body fluid from off the Servine. He wasn't even able to determine the identity of what he was cleansing his starter of half the time._

 _Ray had a hard time avoiding her cuts. She cringed and let out a small whimper every time he accidentally brushed over an unseen gouge. Her eyes, the entire time, were downcast. She tried her best not to give Ray a sincere gaze._

 _The Servine had been humiliated, the trust she'd place in the Dewott having been shattered in a single night. She had no idea what to do with herself. The worst part; Somin was there to witness it all, and had gotten hurt as a result. What kind of friend was she, abandoning him entirely only to come crawling back for help months later? She'd hardly had a conversation with the Zorua over the last few months, her thoughts almost always occupied with naïve faith in the Dewott._

 _Ray had an idea of the full story behind her state, but didn't dare bring it up then. Instead, he just wanted her to know she was safe._

 _For maybe the first time in the trip from Black City, they'd swapped roles, the human instead trying to comfort the Pokémon. Ray figured they'd both been through a lot together, but were far from lost causes._

 _"Hey," he spoke softly as he finished up, "look, you're safe now… I know I've been doing a really shitty job trying to be a good trainer and protect you guys… Whatever happened tonight, know it wasn't your fault. I should have seen Zach for the asshole he was."_

 _When he noticed the Servine still wasn't looking him in the eye, he brought a hand to raise her chin._

 _"I never thanked any of you guys for trying to help me after what happened to Sierra. You… You have nothing to be ashamed of. Everything that's happened to us… It's… I-It's."_

 _Vita finally gave her trainer a sincere look as he started crying himself._

 _"I don't want you guys to have to go through what you go through with me. I never really understood why you decided to stay with me… Hell, I still don't know… I can't even pretend to know what that Dewott did to you. I-"_

 _"Ser…"_

 _He looked back up, giving his full attention to Vita, even if he couldn't comprehend what she was going to say._

 _Instead, she said nothing, wrapping two of her vines around the back of Ray's neck. Straight out of the tub, still wet, she brought herself up to embrace him as tightly as possible. She made sure to hold tight the human that'd decided to spare her._

 _She had never really shown gratitude following the decision Ray had made during the murder. Expressing joy for such a choice the young boy had been forced to make was cruel. She made no inferences previously about his choosing to save her life. It had been a spur-of-the-moment decision, but she knew deep down they cared for one another. The stupid, naive human she'd come to know and love as family._

 _After momentary shock had worn off, he returned the embrace, trying to comfort the emotional Pokémon. Or maybe he was trying to comfort himself… He hardly gave the thought the time of day._

 _Despite feeling as if he would run out of air from the strength of the embrace, he simply stood from his position on his knees, placing his arms under the Servine for support._

 _He carried her back into the bedroom, already finding Axle and Jet asleep. He laid down on the empty bed, Vita still burying her face in his shoulder. He didn't care she was soaking his shirt with residual water from the bath._

 _They knew they weren't going to get a wink of rest, despite Ray's physical exhaustion and Vita's mental exhaustion. Sleepless, they simply tried enjoying the other's company, struggling to harbor a sense of safety._

 _Sleepless, that is, until a certain legendary forcefully sedated them. Neither of them woke until maybe three in the afternoon the next day, exhausted from the horrible night they'd both shared. The legendary knew they would both not be able to take what came next if not well rested._

 _The feline Pokémon was watching through a window into the room. She'd been following the trainer since the hardship he'd gone through months before, trying to cheer him up._

 _At first, she'd simply felt bad for what had happened to the human, and was determined to set him straight before being on her way._

 _Now, though, she knew it wouldn't be that simple. She was starting to become attached to the young human, an aching in her heart steadily growing. She put it off as unchecked curiosity, eating her up on the inside._

 _Begrudgingly, she'd patched up the Dewott, enough to save his life. That way, the human trainer wouldn't be able to prove malicious intent against Ray's Zorua, who she'd fed her own power to prevail over the evolved Pokémon_

 _Vita herself would prove to be alright. The legendary knew the Servine wasn't in season, and therefore wouldn't be stuck with a permanent reminder of what tragedy had occurred._

 _The boy sleeping before her, though… He'd attacked another human for his Pokémon. Was the other boy, Zach, to blame for his aggression towards Somin? Probably not. However, the humans in the world who had the fervor to protect their cherished companions as far as to take on a larger and stronger boys… Those were certainly few and far between._

 _She caught herself with her heart racing, quick to calm back down. Maybe watching this human for a while would prove beneficial in improving her impression on the human race. After all, her self-imposed good deed hadn't yet been completed. She still had yet to guide him to forgive himself._

 _At least she'd finally found someone to satisfy her boredom._

 _And, despite all her protests against the notion, she started wondering about the possibility of going through with the consensus of her brethren she so ardently despised, with this human as her charge._

* * *

 **Alright, so here we are.**

 **Greatest problem with this chapter BY FAR, was the writing of the news interview, however short. It was originally written as the whole exchange, verbatim, but I decided against telling the story twice, from two different points of view. Since it was cut out so much, I suppose the most difficult section became the fight scene between Somin and the Dewott. Jeez, that took a lot of editing… Even now, after dozens of versions, it isn't as satisfactory as I'd like it to be.**

 **The flashback isn't supposed to be incredibly descriptive about Ray's and Zachary's relationship, considering I wanted to relay the specific events of that fateful night. I felt guilty about glossing over events such as their original meeting, but the two main points of detail I was happy with; the first being Somin's argument with the Dewott and the other being Ray and Vita's interaction in the aftermath.**

 **Regarding the flashback, yes, I do realize its themes are an incredible step up from the normal caliber of this story. Incidents such as these are not common, I promise. While the two years of Ray's past most commonly outlined are more dark then they aren't, the general mood of the present day is fairly lighthearted.**

 **Keep in mind flashbacks are few and far between in the story, and when I have to employ them, one of the only reasons is to shed some light on the gradually growing connections among the team.**

 **Most events in the past are merely hinted at, yet for life-changing scenes such as this one, they deserve the story's full attention.**

 **I also had an exchange with the team written out, in which Ray watches the broadcast and reminisces with them (through telling the story to Victor, who was not present at the time). I found it better to give more character development to Misa instead, which indirectly led to more scenes with Skipp and Seraph. I really hope I've done good with them so far, considering there is going to be a LOT of them over the next Act.**

 **As always, hoped everyone enjoyed! See you in two weeks!**


	14. Peaceful Conflict

**l**

 **Chapter XIII - Peaceful Conflict**

* * *

"You've hardly touched your food."

"I just feel sick to my stomach."

I sat in silence for a bit longer, more important things on my mind than the bowl of milk in front of me. I wasn't the most enthused at the prospect of drinking baby Pokémon Formula, but I'd already gotten over the initial shock of it the day before.

At my request, Seraph had stopped heating it before serving it to me, and rather than use a bottle, I'd advocated for the use of a bowl instead. Still demeaning, but slightly less so. I tried closing my eyes and imagining it was a simple glass of milk. Seraph was quick to notice my reluctance, however, no matter how hard I tried to hide it. She kept any comments regarding the topic to herself, however, until now.

"I managed to get Drayden to convince the nurses not to bottlefeed you. Now you don't want to eat?"

"I'm gonna puke anything I eat anyways right now…"

"You still have a fever. Even without, hatchlings need their strength."

I meant it when I said I felt sick. I had to shut off the television before the interview started, and thinking about all the lies Zach was telling the news didn't comfort me in the slightest.

"I-I'm not really hungry anyways."

"Nonsense," she scoffed. "You just think you're not hungry because you've never felt what it's like to be full. Drink it."

"Seraph, really. I feel fine…"

I felt her gaze pierce my resistance as it grew dark. While having nowhere near the effect Vita may have had, I still felt intimidated, knowing I wouldn't even be close to matching the dragon in strength.

Though I knew she wouldn't attack me, some small voice from the back of my mind pleaded with me to back down. I shoved it off as instinct, and reluctantly resigned myself.

I groaned to myself as I tasted the first bit. I kept trying to tell myself nobody thought of me any differently. This was normality now.

I ended up, after getting used to the bland taste, try and down the drink as fast as possible. Maybe this hell would be over sooner, as Seraph had suggested.

This was getting near-unbearable. I'd gotten used to drinking with my new mouth while on Twist, but this would go on forever if I were to keep it up at my current pace.

I wasn't even halfway done yet.

Groaning again, and not caring for the repercussions, I took a deep breath in, proceeding to dive my entire snout into the milk. I wasted no time in nearly inhaling my meal.

While a lot faster, I found myself out of breath a lot quicker. I could only imagine how I looked, coming up for air every so often, muzzle dripping wet.

I basically shoved the metal bowl away from me as I finished, attitude manifesting into action. Never having gotten over the embarrassment, I wiped my snout with both of my front paws in vain attempts at drying it off.

"Good. That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"I would've liked Berries a lot better."

Seraph sighed and shifted closer to me.

"You're not a herbivore, Nox. And in this case, the formula you drank provides all the nutrients you need. You'll never be a big strong Zoroark one day if you keep eating Berries."

"I don't care… I feel fine either wa-"

"Well, you don't _look_ fine, Nox. You may be smart, but you're small. Tiny, in fact, for a kit your age, but not surprising you've spent your entire life starving on a mountain, without a mother to feed you! I worry, Nox…"

"Fine! I don't wanna make an argument about it," I resigned. "I just… Don't like being fed…"

"You like to be independent, I understand… But there's a common teaching not to bite the hand that feeds you. We can give you real food as soon as your teeth grow in. How does that sound?"

I simply sighed in response, shifting my gaze to a nondescript point straight ahead.

The next thirty minutes or so passed quietly after Seraph offered me a Berry, the name of which escaped me. It boasted an unnaturally sweet taste, bordering on sour.

Seraph proceeded to ask about my illusionary ability, presumably under Drayden's orders. I told her the story of how Somin had taught me, and at her request, the extent of my powers.

"I can keep up a little bit of conversation, but not without getting really tired after a little bit. It's really all I was taught to do so far; make words. After I first met Misa, I kinda remember trying to make her hurt with Illusions, but knocked myself out in the process."

The Altaria had a hearty giggle at that. "Now you _have_ to tell me this one. How'd you come to meet her?"

Letting my guard down somewhat with the casual conversation, I responded, telling the story. "Somin got hurt one day, and I was stupid and tried to go find him some Berries alone, the morning after a blizzard. They got pretty angry with me after."

"I can imagine."

"I accidentally found her den, and she attacked me for being an 'intruder'. She just started following me around after, and wouldn't leave me alone. We started fighting, and, well, I knocked myself out, and Jet came to pick me up."

Seraph seemed highly amused by my tale. "So she just showed up the night we found you? For no reason?"

"Yep. That's just about it… I should ask her about it, honestly. She's just so hard to talk to, though…"

I yawned absentmindedly.

"Well, I can understand that much," Seraph responded. "One day, though, I can imagine you two being great friends."

"Yeah, sure," I sarcastically responded, my mind now out of the conversation. As I let my thoughts meander, another subconscious yawn came to my muzzle.

"You tired?"

"Huh?" I responded, snapping out of my trance.

"You've been yawning. You can go to sleep if you're tired, I don't mind."

"No, not really tired," I nonchalantly explained.

I caught a glimpse of Seraph's warm, reassuring smile before turning and giving my thigh a thorough inspection.

"When do you think my leg will heal?" I asked the Altaria out of curiosity.

"Another consequence of your malnutrition, accompanied by your young age. But, you've been making leaps and bounds even I didn't think possible. Given proper care, you'll most likely be to full strength within a week and a half's time."

I sighed, laying my head down. "That long, really?" How was that true? I already felt well enough to walk for short distances on my own.

"Nox, in all seriousness, it's an absolute miracle you're alright altogether. The consequences, by all odds should have been… Worse. A week and a half is nothing compared to the other options."

I opted to remain silent, rather than grumble something under my breath in spite.

"Look on the bright side!" she offered, "You can be just about as lazy as you want until then. Doesn't that sound promising? I would kill for that kind of relaxation. Much better than fighting to survive every single day in a freezing wasteland, right?"

 _The situation I'm in right now is even more stressful than being on Twist. Acting 24/7 to save my hide sucks, and I gotta deal with all the repercussions of others' not knowing. Relaxation… It's the exact opposite._

Yet, I lied again, nodding my head in agreement.

"Good, I'm glad you see it that way as well," she said, "I'm also glad I've gotten to know you a little better. I'm sure this all feels unfamiliar to you, but just know that Skipp, myself, and my entire team are here to help."

I didn't respond, instead opting to look up at the Altaria.

"Seraph, I-"

The door opened behind us, making a quiet creak as the hinges twisted. Curious, I turned, only to find Skipp and Misa standing in the doorframe.

"What are you doing here?" the Axew asked, narrowing her eyes at me.

"This is my room too," I responded, spite quick to seep into my voice.

The room was quick to fall into silence as her jaw widened in a form of disbelief.

"Skipp!" she started complaining after absorbing my message, giving a rage-filled glance towards the Flygon. "You didn't tell me _he_ was gonna be here!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" I shot back.

"W-well Misa," Skipp explained, glance shifting back and forth between the both of us. "W-we were kinda t-told to keep an eye… On you two, and so, uh…"

I sent an annoyed glare in Seraph's direction. She encouraged me with a cautious smile. I moved up towards the head of the bed and laid down once again. Seraph moved over to the other bed.

Sighing dejectedly, Misa left the Flygon's side, approaching the far bed, the one I occupied. With an emotionless grunt, she leaped up and hung her body half over the edge of the bed. Struggling, she then clambered the rest of the way up.

I spied Misa giving me a glare out of the corner of her eye, but ignored it. As long as she didn't go through the amount of effort to do anything malicious.

I watched Seraph as she accompanied Skipp on the opposite bed, the two large dragons nearly too large to fit on the singular mattress. Nevertheless, she gave him an affectionate greeting.

I even thought I heard Skipp whisper something along the lines of 'I'm not really good at this'.

Minutes passed by in absolute silence, growing only more awkward as time progressed. Bored, I let my gaze wander, first towards the plain wooden door, then to the beds, adorned with white sheets and brown blankets. Both beds in the room were still made. I wondered, if both of the mature dragons sitting across from me were to fall asleep on the bed they now occupied, how would they manage not to fall off?

The window, displaying a pleasant, light-filled night sky, the open closet near the entrance, the desk to my right.

Eventually, my eyes found the one thing in the room I had tried not staring at for the longest time.

"Whaddaya looking at, pipsqueak?"

I took a moment to sigh frustratedly, Seraph's advice about showing the Axew kindness coming to mind.

 _If anything, 'breaking the cycle', as Seraph put it, would at least get her to leave me alone._

So, I tried the peaceful response, producing a frail, "Please stop calling me that."

"Why? I like it."

"Well I don't… You don't see me calling you 'runt', now do I?"

The Axew froze, frowning. I'd since let my gaze go back to moving about the room in sporadic fashion, but I found myself looking back at the Axew again.

She was in my face within moments, prompting me to shirk back.

"You're right," she said, advancing. "You don't call me that, because, if you ever did, I would make sure you never talked ever again. Got me?"

"Misa!" Seraph interjected.

"What, I strike a nerve?" I lashed back while leaning forward, now having no mind for diplomacy. "I guess now you see how it feels."

"I can call you whatever the hell I want, because I'm the master and you're the slave!"

"What, a runt?"

"This is your last chance, shorty. Call me that again, and I swear…" she gave a sideways glance towards Seraph and Skipp, watching the scene with apprehension, before leaning in close to my ear.

"I swear I'll tell them all. Call me a… a r-runt again. I dare you."

 _She's really up in arms about it, isn't she…_

"Do I make myself clear?" she asked sharply, much in the tone a drill sergeant would.

Afraid to let my secret out, I reluctantly answered, "Yes…"

At her still-combatative stare, though, I added a simple 'ma'am' under my breath.

"Okay, I think that's enough of that," Seraph's voice cut into the tension. "I'm sure we'll all feel better after getting some sleep. Try not to kill each other in your sleep, you two."

Seeing as I was on the side of the bed closest to the window, I only heard Skipp and Seraph getting ready for bed themselves. A small, trivial argument broke out on who would sleep where. I thought I heard Skipp offer Seraph the bed, seeing they were too large to stay on it together, but they eventually reached a resolution.

I was mentally exhausted, but couldn't sleep for all I was worth, always worrying Misa would in fact murder me in my sleep. Every time I sent the Axew a glance, however, careful to avoid notice, I could see the glint of her eyes. She was still awake, gazing out the same window I would find myself spectating from time to time.

It was obvious I wasn't the only insomniac in the room.

Eventually, I heard the soft snores of both Skipp and Seraph with my enhanced hearing. I relaxed somewhat, glad to be rid of my flimsy façade, if only for a few hours.

I found myself, after the millionth glance towards the Axew, staring out the window indefinitely. My position gave a great view of the courtyard outside, Reshiram statue and all. It was lit up brilliantly in the night, giving a whole other side to the dazzling scenery. I didn't ever remember respecting the decor to this degree when I was human.

We seemed to be in a building on a single side of a plaza, buildings all aesthetically similar. The symbol on the one to my right revealed it to be a Pokémart.

The other two buildings, as evidenced by the signs outside, were a hotel and a restaurant.

The plaza itself was elegantly decorated. Benches and well-trimmed hedges adorned either side of each stone path, leading outwards from the center. Openings in said hedges allowed for the grass areas in between paths to be accessed.

 _Where are we?_

Probably the crowning jewel of the image before me was the gargantuan fountain that sat in the middle of the plaza. Reshiram, the legendary Pokémon said to hold the fire of truth within the turbine on his tail, was depicted in a fearsome pose. Likely life-sized, the statue at the center of the fountain stood approximately thirteen feet tall. Wings risen above his head, the great dragon roared to the skies in permanent magnificence.

Spotlights dotting the rim of the fountain were tilted upwards, illuminating the statue in the growing darkness.

Something about the fountain struck me as odd, but I couldn't quite find the words to vocalize it. I supposed one could say I felt much more _affected_ by the towering prowess of the statue, as opposed to what I would have normally felt.

Perhaps it was the fact I now resided in a Pokémon's body, but it struck an unnatural sense of awe within me. The statue, even without the flow of water for fear of freezing, seemed nearly _alive_.

Arceus, why did I feel so restless looking at that statue?

Restless, in fact, to the point I felt I would explode if I didn't move. The moon, beckoning me with the increased productivity it brought to my core, taunted me silently. Why was I stuck in this room?

Eventually, I got to the point where I began to twitch. Succumbing to instinct and its deathly grip, I silently rose. I made sure to test my leg out in a wide variety of motions before slowly slipping off the bed. Despite a small sting emanating from the wound every so often, I trusted the bandages, and felt rather fine.

Was it smart to sneak away? No. If I were to be caught, though, I was sure Seraph would understand. It wasn't as if the Altaria got angry often, I'd certainly given her plenty of opportunities before then.

I crept around the foot of the bed, gazing upon an Altaria and a Flygon, both blocking the path to the door with their unconscious bodies.

I cursed under my breath, knowing I would have to get on the bed to proceed. After doing that, however, was when I met my real obstacle.

The door… I doubted I could jump high enough to grab the handle. Even if I could, the noise would prove too much in my hopes of keeping the slumbering dragons as they were. Plus, I wanted to decrease my mobility as much as possible.

Grabbing a chair would make too much noise for comfort, but I opted to try it. The room's carpeted floor definitely helped.

I walked over to one of the two chairs in the room, this one up against a wall. After making sure I got a good grip around it with my front paws, I pulled with all my might.

It hardly budged… Sighing, I tried another approach, reluctantly placing my mouth around it.

It moved, but definitely not the way I wanted it to.

Instead of scooting along the ground, it tipped, prompting me to dive to the side as it crashed to the ground where I was not a second before.

I hid, expecting the dragons to wake up from the sudden noise, but was met only with a slight shift of movement.

 _Heavy sleepers… That's an advantage._

Seeing the way the chair fell, I carefully stepped on it, balancing my body weight between two edges, mindful of my right thigh and the sting it brought every time I put weight on it. Carefully, I reached up towards the door and pulled the handle, thankful when I heard a gratifying click.

I had only cracked the door, but wide enough for me to poke my head through and squeeze my way out into the hallway.

I trotted carefully down the hallway, now much less aware of my surroundings. While still taking the stairs carefully, I was a lot more reckless with my actions. Hell, I hardly even felt my injury in my excitement to get outside.

All sense of reason was lost as I burst outside into the chilling night air.

I was rewarded for my efforts with the gratifying rush of adrenaline as my core's output increased. I could feel energy pumping through my body, invigorating my spirit while leaving the pain of my leg behind.

Laughing stupidly, I stretched my back through the hyperextension of my front legs. I had no reasonable impetus for departing from the bed to come out here, but I was going to be sure to enjoy my enlightened senses without being cooped up.

Now that I was free, though, I found myself _really_ relaxing for the first time that day.

A new sensation was soon sprouted from my mindset, a sensation of discomfort.

I felt… Pent-up, to put it simply. It was if my muscles ached for something to do, but not quite. This ache, rather, was coming from my core.

Without being under the scrutinous eye of my captors, I felt my energy welling up, practically begging for release. I could only resist a few seconds before it spiked.

I gasped as I felt a large portion of my energy hiccup and leave my system around all sides. I had not needed to direct its flow whatsoever. Instead, it took on a mind of its own.

What surprised me most, however, was how I felt afterwards. If I were to do that in a normal situation, I would most definitely pass out. Now, though, I simply felt normal, staring at the hazy purple discharge I'd created dissipating into the night sky.

It was like I'd simply let out a sneeze. I was familiar with the process of expelling excess energy in Pokémon; I'd seen it many times myself. Though, I'd never imagined it felt so plain… So natural.

As Pokémon got older and gained more of a hold on their energy, they would have to discharge less often. Many never found themselves with that predicament, always fighting and wasting energy through other means. With nothing to do, though, the energy becomes stale, and requires expulsion.

It was, to say the least, extremely interesting to witness it first hand.

As I took a glance around the well-lit plaza, multiple foreign thoughts came to mind, many already having been seen during the previous day.

 _Roll around in that grass? Pull a prank on that Pidove over there? Maybe practice illusions in general? What should I do not to be bored?_

It took me a moment to realize that while those thoughts were mine, they certainly weren't _mine_ , if the explanation fits. Never had I such spontaneous thoughts before.

And never before had they sounded so appeal-

 _Stop it! I don't know what's going on, but so can't let myself get distracted._

 _I bet it'd be funny if I made the Pidove think it was hearing things…_

I groaned, keeping a constant watch on my thoughts for any new discrepancies. What was wrong with my head?

I took a more in-depth look at the surroundings until I noticed the dark backdrop. In the distance, I could see a mountain range, black in the shadow of night.

I nearly choked, whipping my head around to get another good look at the buildings. I _did_ recognize this place. Timberline, the mountainside resort town. My team and I had rented a cabin up here for four months after arriving to Icirrus, before we'd gone and stayed on Twist. It was maybe thirty miles outside the city.

I snapped back to reality as a shadow passed over me. My gaze whipped straight up to the moon, the only largely visible object in the sky. I caught the smallest glimpse of quite a large figure leaving its light, shadow soon to disappear.

I stepped back, putting my thoughts aside. I tentatively scanned the area for the shadow to reappear.

There! In the residual light given off by the statue, the flying figure reappeared. I soon lost track of it behind a building.

 _Should I make a break for it?_

I wasn't supposed to be out there either way. Cautiously, I stepped backwards, eyes never leaving the sky. I had no way of telling whether or not I should've been afraid. It was most likely a Pokémon used to guard the area. I remembered Seraph telling me about the entire area of town being partitioned off.

Nevertheless, I started backing away, choosing not to turn behind me. The Pokémon Center was twenty, maybe thirty feet away?

My heart started racing. Why had I been so stupid, venturing outside for no reason? Sure, maybe my imminent discharge had led my instincts to guide me outside. Since when had instinct, though, dictated my actions? Instinct had been much more quiet as a human. If I had a human mind, why was it so predominant now?

I stumbled, both literally and mentally over an obstacle I hadn't seen in my walk backwards.

I yelped as I fell, rolling to the side. I sat for a moment, stunned, staring up at the night sky.

A certain, loathed Pokémon appeared in my vision, leaning over me.

"What are you _doing_ out here?" I hissed, narrowing my eyes.

Misa stared back at me, unamused. "You should watch where you're going. Is a master not supposed to know where her slave is at all times?"

"Are you _kidding_ me?" I retorted, getting back up to stand aggressive before the Axew. "That's your reason?!"

"Oh, what's yours then? At least I have one!"

"I'm going back in anyways. Freeze your ass off if you want to."

I started walking away, huffing.

"For someone who needs me to keep a secret for them, you're really getting on my nerves."

I whipped my head back around at what I took to be a threat.

"Is this some sort of joke to you? Do you have any idea where we are, or what's going on? This little game of slave and master is stupid, Misa."

"Really? I kinda think it's pretty fun. Never had a little pipsqueak slave to cater to me before."

I remained silent, resentment for the Axew coming off me in waves.

"Let's start off by telling me why you're out here? There's gotta be a pretty good reason, right?"

I was ready to give her a sarcastic response, but her gaze, illuminated by the light of the statue, made me stop. It said, without any words, something along the lines of 'play along or I'll go and tell Seraph everything'.

Growling to steady myself, I stiffened my body. I spoke as jaggedly as possible.

"The night makes me feel better, and honestly, I could have used a bit of relaxation. You ruined that as soon as you got here."

"It's my job to make your life miserable in return for me keeping your secret," she responded tantalizingly. "I thought you'd figured that out by now…"

"Don't know why it has to be like that," I grumbled, turning to go back inside. "You could just not be an ass all the time."

The Axew snickered. "You're one to talk about being an ass, little hypocrite…"

"Don't call me _little_ ," I groaned, stopping dead. "You didn't like it when I called you stuff like that."

"Yeah, well, that's one of the advantages of being your master, right? I get to call you _whatever_ I want, and you can't do a thing about it! _I_ have the edge here, not you. I'm in power now."

I remained silent, knowing she would do something brash if she continued.

"You were the one that said you'd do anything. I only took you up on the offer. Who looks stupid now, huh?"

I forced back a growl forming in the back of my throat.

"We needed to talk anyways," she said in a joking tone. "Perfect time, right?"

"Well, not re-"

"It was rhetorical. You don't got a choice."

I suppressed an instinctive growl. "And what happens if they catch us out here?"

"They won't. Seraph and Skipp are out cold."

"This is a really bad idea Mis-"

"Then you're taking the blame if we get caught, right? I told you it was _such_ a bad idea, but you couldn't resist getting outside!"

I stared at the Axew, incredulous.

"Say otherwise and my mouth might just slip about the name 'Ray'. Got me?"

I stiffened up.

"Yes… Ma'am…"

"See? You're already improving! Nice job, shortstack!"

"Just please… If you're gonna do this, stop with the nicknames."

"Hmm…" the Axew brought a hand to one of her tusks, stroking it in mock contemplation. "Maybe if you be a good slave I'll lighten up a bit. Seeing your reaction to 'pipsqueak' is just too hilarious not to pass up."

I scrunched my eyes, trying to make the wave of anger pass without retaliation.

"Let's just get this over with," I suggested. "It's freezing out here."

"I'm able to figure that out myself, thanks," she responded in a no-nonsense tone, as if suggesting I'd forgotten the fact she was a dragon, and therefore susceptible to the cold. "I'm not stupid."

"Sure coulda fooled me," I said under my breath. Thankfully, she had since turned around and was staring at the Reshiram statue.

"You ever feel weird around this thing?" she asked, referring to the gargantuan statue.

"No," I lied, staring up into its face. I distinctly remembered my reaction to first seeing it just a few minutes before. Something about it was alluring, captivating, even, despite it being made of a simple white quartz. It seemed to burn with life, however, visible much deeper than the surface. The fur on the back of my neck stood on end.

I didn't give the odd sensation much mind. I was now a Pokémon, looking upon an interpretation of a legendary. I thought it natural to feel that way. Just another reason to revert back to a human as quickly as possible.

"Why are they after you and your friends?" she asked, slicing through the silence. "From what I've seen, they don't seem like really interesting 'mon…"

"They're not after my friends," I explained, shooting a glare towards the back of her head. "They're after the human who traveled with them."

"There wasn't a hew-man on the mountain with you guys. Why did they just take you all, then?"

"I think they're still looking for him, but know he's not with us anymore. They think we're hiding him somewhere. Besides, they thought you and I were going to die if we stayed up there without help."

She scoffed. "I was perfectly fine. I think you forget I saved you from that river. I wasn't the one that needed help. So why did they take me with you? I didn't ask them to…"

"You're lucky they did," I responded, looking away ever so slightly. "You wouldn't have lasted much longer alone on that mountain anyways."

"I was doing _perfectly_ fine," she retorted, spinning around. "I didn't want you guys coming up on _my_ mountain and screwing with my chances of getting stronger."

I opened my mouth to respond.

"Don't talk," she said, seething. "I should have just let you drown… If I knew you were gonna be so ungrateful, or I would get kidnapped…"

She paused, kicking imaginary dirt off the ground.

"It's your fault… What's the point in helping people if you only get punched in the gut in return?"

I sighed. I knew it would be best just to remain complacent as she continued. If I did anything else, there would be no telling what she would do.

"So, here's what you're gonna do… You pissed me off and now you're my slave, and I'm sure as hell gonna make the most of it. You have _no_ idea who you're messing with."

My gaze narrowed.

 _Big talk…_

"Now, my first _official_ order… Talk. Tell me why I'm keeping your stupid name a secret."

"U-Uh…" I stuttered, eyes wandering. "I… I can't…"

"Sure you can't," she sarcastically just responded. "Just like how I _can't_ tell Seraph the truth. Spit it out, pipsqueak."

"Look," I tried pleading. Maybe playing submissively would actually work to my advantage. "I can tell you just about anything, or do just about anything. Yeah, I said I would be your slave, but…"

"But?" she chastised.

"ButIcan'ttellyouaboutmyname," I spoke inhumanly fast, clenching my eyes. "Please don't tell Seraph, or Skipp, or anyone else, and I'm sorry I can't tell you, and I'll do what you want, so please just don't tell."

I felt the Axew's annoyed gaze burn into my skin. The silence, mused with the anticipation of her answer, was killing me. I could hear my blood pound in my ears.

"Fine," she gave up reluctantly, prompting a relieved sigh. "I won't tell, but mark my words. I'll figure out one day, and if it's bad, you're going down. Understand?"

I nodded my head quickly. She was on the verge of breaking and spilling my secret, and I most definitely did not want to provoke her further.

"Good," she concluded, lip curling. "But one slip-up, and it's bye-bye. We got a deal, _Nox_?"

"Yeah… Yeah, sure. I just… I want you to please take this seriously. We may not like each other, but please… Know how important this is for me."

"If I cared about any of what you want, I would tell you," she said, shoving past me on her way back to the Center. "I'm gonna have some fun with this, and you aren't gonna stop me. Got that, slave?"

"Mhmm…" I replied, relieved. She was satisfied, at least for now… At one point or another, I would have to deal with her permanently. What that entailed, I had no idea.

I followed the Axew back into the Center, silent. I pushed in front, leading up the stairs and making sure the coast was clear. Of course I would be more adamant about searching the area, considering I would have no choice but to stick myself with the blame.

Thankfully, Misa had been smart enough to leave the door cracked as she had departed after me. She'd also put the chair back up before she left, which succeeded in surprising me immensely. We were able to sneak inside, get back onto the far bed without notice, and settle down in our respective spots.

I was now trapped in a carbon copy of the exact same predicament I was in before, however. Of course, I was no longer feeling the effects of an overdue discharge in my energy, but I couldn't get to sleep. I simply laid in silence, checking whether or not Misa was sleeping every so often.

Maybe an hour after returning, her eyes finally closed, no longer reflecting the glint of the moon. I sighed, letting my posture finally go slack.

Multiple solutions to the problematic Axew came to mind, not all of which I found comforting. I had to somehow either content her to the point of leaving me alone, or make her forget about my name entirely. Threaten her effectively, maybe?

 _Getting Somin to talk to her would be the best option, but how would I get him to do that? There's always the option of Mew, but she's stuck in that ball Arceus-knows-where. If I got stronger, I could possibly beat her into submission._

I felt myself cracking a small smile with that last remark.

 _That'd feel pretty good, if I'm being perfectly honest… Though, there's always the option…_

My muscles contracted as a new thought came to mind, branching from my violent pondering.

 _She's vulnerable right now… I could…_

I shook my head rapidly, paws shooting straight to my ears.

 _Arceus, what the hell's wrong with you?! She may be the most annoying little shit I've ever met, but I'm not a murderer!_

…

 _Yes you are…_

If I had the physiology, I would bury my face in my hands. I… I needed to calm down. Going back outside was out of the question… My thoughts flitted back to the shadowy figure I'd seen flying around… Despite the action being stupid, I had no idea if the silhouette was friend or foe.

Knowing I could do just about nothing else, I subconsciously began hiding from myself, slipping through the space between the quilt I lay upon and the sheets of the bed.

I curled up solemnly, eventually passing out.

* * *

"Well, you're sure a sight for sore eyes."

My eyes shot open, feeling as if I'd just shut them not two seconds before. However, the lack of a window in front of me betrayed the fact I was no longer in the room.

I'd been here before, a certain occurrence not two days before having been forever burned into my memory. Ignoring the fact I was back, once again, in my human body, I whipped my head to and fro.

"Mew?"

I was forced to the ground, yelling, as something unseen catapulted into my neck from behind. My first instinct was to grab the object and try yanking it off, but its grip was tighter than that of death.

It took me a few moments to let my mind calm and actually realize what it was.

Turning my head as far as possible, I perceived a bit of pink out of the corner of my eye, confirming my suspicion.

"You shouldn't scare me like that," I breathed, trying to get my heart to calm. I was able to both see and feel Mew raising her head to peer into my eyes, relieved.

"I'm not sorry," she tried lightening the air, slowly letting go of me. She was soon to float off my collar, allowing me to view her fully.

She looked just as I last remembered her, no irregularity leading me to the conclusion something was amiss.

"I hope you have good news," I began, sitting on the invisible ground beneath me. "Life on the outside sucks right now."

"Right to business? You almost died, Ray, and you have _no_ idea how useless I felt trying to tether your soul to your body…" she paused, eyes squinting tantalizingly before a sarcastic response, "Sorry if I'm just a _little_ relieved."

"I'm happy I'm okay too," I responded, taking a moment to refamiliarize myself with my human body. As if to test they still worked, I clenched and unclenched my fingers around nothing.

"So, umm…" I heard Mew say, "How're things going? On the outside, I mean… You said not that good?"

I sighed, closing my eyes for a moment. "No, not really. They've got Drayden's Altaria and Flygon watching me 24/7, and the only one I've seen on the team is Vita… We're stuck… First priority is getting you out, but I doubt I'm going to be able to do it alone…"

"T-take your time," Mew responded, reluctantly. "May be a little claustrophobic in this thing, but at least I have some handle on my powers…"

"What are you able to do?"

"Not much… Any telepathy requires the target be close to me, and either way, their mind can't have much going on… So basically, whenever you're asleep is all I can manage…"

"Do you know where you are?"

"Not really… I'm only able to see living things out of this, and surprisingly enough, there's only one person ever around. You would think there would be guards everywhere, right?"

"Yeah, that's pretty weird…"

"I saw some more come through earlier, but the life force of the person who'd been here the whole time just swamped everything. I was hardly able to notice the visitors."

"Life force?"

"Pokéballs, well… Okay, lemme just put it this way. You can 'see' things' life forces, and you can hear some stuff, but it's just really weird and I can't really e-"

"Doesn't matter… Did you hear any conversation?"

"A few names went around… That's really all I heard…"

"Was one of them Vicus?"

Mew paused for a moment, eyes growing confused. "Yeah, how did you-"

"I was told a little bit about him… Apparently a friend of Drayden's." My mind went back to my earlier conversation with Skipp. "I think it's the guy they're gonna use to interrogate you. Ever heard of him?"

"Never… Know anything else?"

"The guy's gotta be wicked smart… I don't know much else, but Drayden and Vulcan and Seraph went to go see him earlier."

Mew remained silent, trying to come up with a response.

"I wouldn't be surprised if the gigantic life force was Drayden to be honest. I may be on his belt."

"I don't know, wouldn't you have heard me earlier then? Well, I guess I never really talked while Draden was around."

"Then maybe not," she replied plainly after a few moments. "I can recognize you from a mile away."

"I guess…"

"So, Vicus, then. You ever heard of a guy like that?"

"No, but if his energy has anything to say about him, he's… well…"

"A Pokémon?"

"No, I don't think. I would be able to recognize it if it was."

"Human?"

"It would make sense because it's so unique, but it's not phyiscally possible for a human to have that big of a core. It might be a disguising device, I don't know."

"I… Okay, I'll try figuring out who he is. He might be a problem."

"Don't let it bother you, if I do end up getting released from this thing and that creep Vicus starts trying to ask me questions, I'll just kill 'em and leave. Simple enough."

"You should really try diplomacy some time," I groaned.

"I've been alive for millennia, Ray… If I was good at diplomacy, I would've figure that out by now."

That statement sparked a chuckle.

"I do have some news, though, that I meant to tell you…"

"Hmm?"

Mew sighed, turning away.

"I overheard a conversation about Jet."

"Yeah? What about him?"

"He's… He never came back the night we were all captured, to put it simply."

My look remained blank. "What?"

"They seem to think human Ray and him are hanging around Twist, and left Brycen up there in case you went back to the cave… He's not here, with everyone else."

"Wh-where is he, then?!"

"I don't know," she sighed.

"Damnit Mew! Why wasn't I told about any of this?!"

"Probably to keep you from getting too worked up about it. In their eyes, you're nothing more than a kit. The loss of one of your friends might've scared a hatchling."

Frustrated, I yelled spontaneously, punching nothing.

"Even Vita! After all that bullshit with not telling me about her being pregnant, she goes and keeps another damn secret from me! What the hell?!"

Mew let me fume on my own, thankfully. After what was probably a minute or two of pacing angrily, I settled down, defeatedly walking back to the legendary.

"I wouldn't worry about it. She probably just forgot to tell you, or didn't want you worrying about it while trying to keep up an act. Jet'll be fine on his own, I'm sure. He'll come around eventually."

"Maybe… How you holdin' up?" I shifted the conversation, hoping not to dampen further the lighthearted air.

"Eh, this sucks… Can't really remember the last time I haven't been able to move this long…"

"Right."

"Sorry we'll have to hold off on… Well, you know… Being human again."

I looked down at my hands, knowing they would be gone when I woke. I resolved to enjoy them for the time being. They felt real enough.

"As long as you come and talk to me every night, I think I'll feel human enough for a while," I responded, raising my head back up. "I know you said this is my mind, but it just feels so real…"

"Your body isn't the only thing you can change," Mew continued, voice growing more aloof. "All we've been sitting in is darkness here… You don't really have a good imagination, do you?"

I let out a harrumph, sarcastically turning away as if offended. I tried pushing the thought of Jet out of my mind, at least for the time being. If anything, it may have proven to be a tactical advantage.

Mew let out a giggle, eventually developing into a small laugh.

"It's nice not to be alone for once," she explained, eyes shut. "Gives me some time to let loose and relax with conversation, despite everything going on."

"I hear you," I said, sighing. "Might as well try a change of scenery, then…"

I shut my eyes in concentration, envisioning the first thing that came to mind; imagining a snowy forest, a small area carved out with a lit firepit and some blankets.

I opened my eyes, hoping to behold my creation. I was met with the same, black void.

"Damnit," I cursed under my breath. Could a single thing have a simple solution?

"Told ya your imagination sucked," I heard Mew tease. "Besides, the morning should be here soon, we should try and finish up without distraction."

"Fine," I relented, frustratedly shifting my gaze towards the legendary. I sat myself down on the invisible ground. The legendary was soon to join me, floating out of the air and into the space created by my crossed legs.

"You know… It's still surreal to think I'm actually touching a legendary… You _really_ make people uncomfortable, you know that?"

"Oh, ha ha," she rolled her eyes. "You seemed to warm up to me pretty fast."

"And to think… All it took was getting controlled, killed, resurrected, and nearly killed again. You have a funny way of showing affection."

"And yet… Here we are…" she paused for a moment, eyes growing downcast. "Do you really think we should be so laid back? We _are_ in really bad positions right now."

"I could use a break," I responded. "Believe it or not, acting like a hatchling is really, really exhausting… Especially when you have an Axew threatening to share the secret all the time."

"They know?!" she exclaimed, astonished.

"No," I explained, hoping to calm her, "this Axew was on the mountain with us, and knows my name… She's been really flaunting her power over me."

"How?" Mew asked curiously, still apprehensive.

"I'm basically her slave," I spit out, hearing an expected laugh from the legendary. "It was all I could do to try and not get her to tell."

"That's a problem," Mew continued laughing, more at my predicament than anything. "I'll try to talk to her. She may sound big, but I doubt she's a major threat. If anything, you can tell it off as her messing around if she does end up telling someone."

"You have no idea how infuriating she is," I fumed.

"Well, you may not like it, but I'm going to give you some advice and just try to make her happy. From your description, I know that's probably gonna be hard. Just try, okay? Better safe than sorry."

"Yeah, fine, whatever."

"Moving on… What's the plan? We should come up with one, shouldn't we?"

"Nothing's happening until I see the team, which seems like an impossibility at this point… I can really only hope I'll be able to see all of them when we go to Opelucid… After that, me and you can coordinate something to do."

"Sounds alright… You have to stay in range, though… If you're too far away, I'm not gonna be able to talk to you."

"I don't have any control over it," I said, sighing. "We just have to hope, I guess…"

I could hear the legendary's disdain in the form of a frustrated growl. "This is stupid…"

"You have another option?"

"I wish… I don't know how trained Pokémon can stand this… Not being able to do anything is so boring, not to mention embarrassing. I should've honestly killed Drayden while I had the chance… No offense, but being outsmarted by a human isn't exactly flattering. He _hit_ me, Ray. A human was able to land a hit on me."

"Don't worry," I said in hopes of cheering her up, "I'll get you out soon, I promise."

"Whatever," she replied, rolling her eyes grumpily. "You sound really cliché, you know that?"

"There's the Mew I know. Less doom and gloom, and more sarcastic. Cynicism doesn't suit you."

I simply laughed off the sardonic stare I received for the remark.

"Killing you is on top of my priority list when I get out of here."

"Already succeeded. Almost did it twice," I smirked.

Mew stuck out her tongue at me, and being the mature teenager I was, I followed suit.

After sharing a brief chuckle, an awkward air filled the room. I averted my gaze from the legendary, regretting my decision to joke about my peril. Mew didn't give any outward reaction of negativity, but I doubted she was over our misgivings herself.

"Should probably send you back," she spoke after maybe a minute of silence. "Don't want you tired and giving yourself away."

"Fair enough… I'll talk to you tomorrow?"

"Count on it. I'll try my best."

Before I could respond with a goodbye, she was gone, and I was alone.

* * *

 _A twitch…_

 _The boy was sure he felt it. A simple twitch, meaning nothing under most circumstances._

 _His eyes widened, though, as he felt it. A sign of life._

 _Of course, it could just be nerves firing off after death, but as he stared down into the cradle of his arms, never ceasing in running, he knew._

 _It could have been his imagination, but he blew it off._

 _His Zorua had come back to life. He just knew… Somehow…_

 _Somehow… He'd been gifted with another chance. He'd already let seven slip through his fingers, and he was sure he wouldn't let this be the eighth._

* * *

I woke with a start, eyes wide. I was soon to squint them, however, with the new sun peeking in through the window. It had just barely risen over the distant town of Icirrus.

 _The dream… It happened again…_

Back out of nowhere… I didn't understand. I'd completely forgotten about the visions, but they still came.

This one was different… A continuation? Why did my mind insist in showing me them? I had no care for them, so what was the point?

I remembered Victor telling me his guess regarding the dreams. I figured then, if I were to ignore them, maybe they'd go away.

I would most definitely be telling Mew about them, though. Perhaps she knew the cause. As much as I trusted Victor, I wasn't exactly a firm believer in his being a proper psychiatrist.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I startle you?"

My heart rate calmed enough to turn and focus on Seraph's face, eyes peering into mine from a safe distance.

"You're a light sleeper," she teased as my expression calmed. "All I did was walk over here to check on you both."

"Uhh… I guess," I responded, starting to stand. Conscious of my injured leg, I stretched my back and gave her an answer I guessed she'd be satisfied with. "Never really had a lot of time to sleep on the mountain, I guess."

My excuse seemed to be expected. The Altaria simply nodded her head before turning towards the foot of the bed.

My gaze, following hers, fell on Misa, still asleep. The Axew looked quite peaceful, and I wanted nothing more than to interrupt that peace.

"Well, we don't have much to do, so if you'd like to sleep in, feel free."

"No," I responded. "I'm awake now, might as well stay up."

"Well, maybe you can help me wake up this lazy Flygon, then. I'm sure I'll need the help."

* * *

 **This chapter, if any, can be called a problem chapter.**

 **While anyone reading this lives sometime in the future, know I wrote this over the Holiday Season 2016, meaning I had to take some breaks.**

 **It definitely didn't help what may be my first case of writer's block thus far. I know the general direction I want the story to go, but adding in detail as seamlessly as possible is oddly frustrating.**

 **Looking into the future of this story, my greatest concern is definitely the amount of characters. I hope, though, that with constant interaction, each character will be burned into the reader's memory. I've introduced all the important ones, for now.**

 **Anyways, as always, I love feedback! I really appreciate any and every review given! 'Till next time.**


	15. Behind Enemy Lines

**l**

 **Chapter XIV - Behind Enemy Lines**

* * *

Five days passed uneventfully. Five meaningless days of recovery in which I found myself slowly adjusting to the reality I now lived in.

Mew spoke to me nightly, often giving simple words of encouragement between complaints about the Master Ball in which she resided. We'd gotten to the point of having our meetings no longer for necessity's sake, but rather for friendly conversation. I wasn't the only one feeling lonely, it seemed.

Misa, as expected, became progressively more familiar with me. Of course, this meant she learned quite fast what my tics were and how to exploit them. I'd be lying to myself if I'd dismissed all the blame for agitating her. It was often fun to annoy the Axew, leading to confrontation that often had to be stopped by one, or even both of the dragons watching us.

I was given a child's treatment much more than I was willing to admit to myself. I did a mediocre job of blocking most of it out, but certain things still set me off. Namely, my inability to eat structured food.

Of course, it was embarrassing beyond all belief, but it did sometimes have its quirks. I, as promised, was allowed to be as lazy as I wanted… Somewhere along the line I began to enjoy the break from the rush of everything.

I made sure to practice illusions as well, whenever possible. Seraph caught me in the act once, though rather than scold me as she had before, she agreed to help me in whatever way possible, as long as I agreed to follow her rules.

I broke those exact rules more often than not. She never figured so much, and I was able to get away with harmless pranks most of the time.

Why had I sudden urge to pull practical jokes? It probably was instinct. Zorua are a naturally impish species, and if the odd behavior helped me to fit into the new role I was destined to play, so be it.

I saw Skyla a total of three times during those five days. I had wished I could see her much more; she was obviously distraught. My disappearance was quite obviously the cause of her distress, and to know her demeanor was entirely my fault put a burden of guilt upon everything else currently brewing.

Every time Misa seemed to get bored of her slave conviction, it seemed to spark again with new intensity. I never escaped the treatment of a lesser being. There'd been a few close calls in which I had to lay down and beg her not to tell Seraph my real name.

It was starting to become a real issue. The small dragon was becoming much more explosive and reckless.

Mew had been putting off talking to the Axew… I resolved to pester her that night as we spoke until she agreed to help me. How she would, I had no clue, but something needed to be done quickly.

"Just shut up and keep watch, _Ray_."

"SHSHSHSHHHHHH," I sounded like a pipe leaking steam. The Axew would often torment me by shouting my name when there was nobody to hear. "I'm keeping watch, just please hurry."

Right then, she shoved past me, apparently having already finished. In her arms was a whole bundle of food. She clumsily dropped an item every so often and left it on the floor.

Growling in discontent, I followed her, trying my best to pick up after her as we left the kitchen. I could only carry so much in my mouth, and was forced to leave the rest.

I followed the scurrying Axew through the lobby, making sure nobody was present to see. Misa, after running down a hallway for a bit, shoved through a cracked door, her self-proclaimed 'base of operations'. Sighing, I walked across the lobby and followed her. I would be in a ton of trouble if I was caught running on my injury.

Quietly, I followed and pushed through the door after her. I dropped the items I was able to carry at the door.

"Mission accomplished!" Misa yelled to herself as she climbed up onto the singular bed in the vacant room.

"Yay us," I replied quietly and sarcastically, turning to leave.

"Where you goin'? It's not like I can eat all this crap by myself!"

Her invitation to share her loot sailed straight over my head. I was bored, and socializing with the Axew wasn't how I wanted to spend my time.

"I'm gonna go find Seraph so I can practice my illusions."

"Why? That's all you ever do!"

I sent her a condescending glare before huffing. "I don't think you'd understand anyways."

She crossed her arms in front of her torso and returned my glare. "Fine, do whatever then, shrimp."

Instead of retaliating, I silently stepped out. In reality, Mew had asked me to practice with my powers, should a situation arise in which I needed them. Without Somin to teach me, progress was slow. However, I tried experimenting each day and had already made some breakthroughs in replicating certain sensations. Nothing more than making Seraph feel a slight tingling feeling was currently achievable without getting too exhausted, but it was a start.

As I entered the lobby, I conveniently eyed Skipp standing near the entrance to the complex. Relieved I didn't have to search long, I approached him.

"Hey Skipp, know were Seraph is?"

"Mhm. She's uh… Looking for Misa. Do you know where she is?"

"No," I lied. If they found the Axew in her hideout, she'd probably blame the whole endeavor in the pantry on me.

"Doesn't matter, I guess. The nurses wanted to see you."

"What?" I complained, pacing for a moment. "Is it time already today?"

"I-it's probably the last time though…"

"Wait, what? Really?"

"Yeah. If everything looks good, they, uh… I think they'll probably let us all leave for Opelucid."

Whether or not that was a relief I had no idea. I was getting sick of Timberline, but Opelucid was nothing short of the hornet's nest.

"Ok…" I relented, "It's not gonna take long, is it?"

"Why? Do you have something going on?"

"No, not really."

I was getting a twitchy feeling, meaning it was about time to let some energy loose. It could wait a little while longer.

Right then, a nurse walked out of a door leading behind the front counter. She was a tall brunette that wore her hair in a different style each day, and the one who'd administered all my previous check-ups at Timberline.

They really made themselves absolutely certain was on the track to recovery. Each day so far, I'd had a thorough examination from the nurse now approaching us.

"Oh, you're both already here," she smiled, "Good, good, come on back with me. We'll get this done pretty quickly."

After sending a glance back at Skipp, I followed the nurse into the back hallway. The Flygon quietly followed. It had always been Seraph who'd accompanied me in my check-ups, so this was obviously a change of pace.

Once we were all situated in an empty room, furnished with all the normal equipment one would think to see, the nurse went through with her usual checklist. She weighed me, measured height, and basically repeated every step she'd completed many times over the last few days.

"He's gaining weight, that's good."

I wasn't sure whether or not the nurses actually knew I was intelligent. I hadn't bothered reaching out to any of them with illusions, and none of the dragons seemed eager to relay any information regarding my proficiency. At her remarks, Skipp simply nodded.

The nurse was very meticulous in removing the bandage around my leg and inspecting the cut beneath.

"Swelling's gone down quite a bit more. He's still not running anywhere, is he?"

Skipp shook his head again.

"Good. Make sure he only has limited physical activity for at least another week, then maybe some light jogging if he feels like it. I don't want him to fall behind other hatchlings' development."

Skipp nodded. I snorted unhappily.

"I'm gonna have to disinfect it; mind keeping him calm for me?"

Skipp, surprised, nodded before stepping towards me. Seraph had been present for all my previous examinations, meaning Skipp knew nothing of the process.

"Umm, uh," the Flygon stuttered, "There, there?"

He obviously knew I didn't need whatever he could offer, but tried putting on a show for the nurse anyways, raising a claw to pat my head awkwardly.

" _Don't bother,"_ I shot at him using illusions. " _It doesn't hurt that b-OW_."

I jerked for a moment, gritting my teeth as the nurse disinfected my wound without any warning whatsoever. I shot a glare at the human out of the corner of my eye as she reapplied the bandage.

"You did great today!" she began, tone transitioning into a sort of puppy-dog voice. "We're almost done, ok?"

I didn't give a response as she stepped over to the counter and grabbed a small device. It was shaped like a pistol, but a closer look revealed it to have a display panel where the hammer would usually be and a dish connected on the end of the barrel.

"I just need to take some energy measurements as part of our filing system," she addressed Skipp. She then pressed the dish end up against the back of my neck after the Flygon backed off. The rim felt cold.

I could hear the device start to beep as she continued addressing Skipp.

"Has he started discharging yet?"

Skipp look flustered for a moment, unsure how to answer. That, combined with Skipp's effort to treat me as the kit I seemed, affirmed the theory that the nurses knew nothing of my ability.

After a second of hesitation, Skipp nodded.

"Really? Huh, he's a bit ahead of his age group then. Interesting."

My mind flashed back to when I discharged the first time a few days ago. Baby Pokémon, still too young to mold their power, would discharge much more often as their bodies began to create energy without a suitable way to get rid of it.

 _Yeah, I'm really far ahead then…_

"Huh," the nurse said, bringing the device away. She tapped the screen a few times before reapplying it to the back of my neck.

A few seconds later, she removed it, sighing.

"Oh no, they're gonna blame me for breaking this thing. It's giving me all sorts of wonky readings."

Skipp, curious, stepped next to the nurse and looked over her shoulder.

"837 million PPI?! This thing's brand new!"

Frustrated, she pressed the device against Skipp's torso to test. She waited for a few seconds.

"Huh, it's working now… But lord, 136 million, Flygon? I sure wouldn't mess with you."

Skipp was bashful for a moment, looking away and lighting up red in the face. I wasn't familiar with this system of measurement.

The nurse sighed before trying again, pressing the device against my shoulder this time.

"Same reading… Darn, we don't have another one here… I'll see if I can fix-"

Drayden walked through the door just then, without invitation.

"Everything going alright?"

"Oh, Drayden, hi… Well, we're just about finished, but I can't get a good reading for little Nox's energy density."

"May I see?"

The nurse, once again, pressed the device against me and took a reading.

"See?" she held the device up to Drayden. He gave me a knowing glance for just a moment.

"And what's the normal energy levels for a hatchling his age?"

"Well, considering he's already apparently discharged, I'd say somewhere between one and a half to three million. Energy readings like I'm getting would have long since killed him."

Drayden remained silent. After a moment or two, he grabbed the device and pressed it up against himself.

"What are you doing? This device isn't designed to pick up on humans' energy levels…"

"Well, normal human levels rest somewhere around an eight of a million, am I wrong?"

"N-no."

"Well, this device is telling me I'm resting at a whopping 563 million PPI. Do you think this is accurate?"

"Nuh-uh."

"I'll run a blood test back in Opelucid for him. We'll get more accurate results."

Drayden actually lifted me off the table on which I sat. I struggled for a moment, but his iron grip forced me to resign myself to listen to more of the conversation.

"Well, I don't think we can let Nox leave until we have an accurate energy reading for the records."

"I'm afraid we don't have the time. A situation I need to attend to has arisen. We leave this afternoon."

 _This afternoon?! Where's the warning?_

"I can't let him leave until we get a density reading! I'm sorry, Drayden, but it's league protocol. We can probably work out a solu-"

"I'm a high-ranking league official with important business. You mean to impede my work?"

"U-uh… Um…"

"I thought as much. Thank you for all you've done over the past few days. I very much appreciate it. We'll be going now."

Leaving the nurse stuttering, Drayden left with me in his grasp, Skipp following close behind.

 _What just happened?_

Drayden halted after we'd reached a nearby hallway. He turned towards Skipp and outstretched his hands with me in them.

"Take the Zorua and find the Axew. Make sure she's not getting into trouble. Afterwards, gather Seraph and Crag and tell them to be ready."

Skipp, after hesitating, outstretched his small arms and took me from Drayden. Thankfully, he promptly set me on the ground.

"Vulcan and I will get Skyla and Vicus set to go. We leave in an hour."

Skipp nodded, turning after Drayden turned to leave himself.

As soon as we were out of earshot, I exploded with the questions I'd been piling up throughout the last exchange.

"What was that all about? What's going on in Opelucid that Drayden needs to be there for? Who's Crag and Vicus?"

I faintly remembered that name; Vicus. Drayden had mentioned it after I'd first woken up. Why hadn't I seen him around here? Had I already and just not known it to be him?

I remembered what Mew had told me the first night. I'd hardly thought anything of the mysterious person since.

"Slow down, Nox… Drayden's just a busy guy."

"Yeah, but what's so important in Opelucid?"

"Well, uh… Nothing to be worried about, really. Just a bunch of people that don't like Drayden very much. We've gotta get back home to help out, y'know?"

"Ok then…" I thought, sarcastically and silently thanking the Flygon for not being vague. "Well, who's Crag and Vicus?"

"Crag? Oh, right, he didn't tell you his nickname, did he? Crud…"

Silence for a few moments.

"Well, don't tell Druddigon that you know his nickname. I don't know if he'll like it."

Crag the Driddigon. I'd hardly seen the dragon in my time at Timberline, but usually when I did, he seemed to be in a bad mood, as if the situation itself was nothing more than an inconvenience to him.

"Ok then, who's Vicus?"

"Vicus? Well, he's a nice guy, I guess, and really smart."

"But who is he?"

"Uhh… Um… Nobody really important. Just a friend of ours."

Skipp's evasiveness piqued my interest. The Flygon wasn't the best at subtlety.

"I just want to know who he is."

"Well, he's a bit of an… Advisor? He's been Drayden's friend for a long time, and he's really smart, and well…"

The secrecy regarding this character prompted me to make a bit of it in my head. I would ask Mew later about it, considering she seemed to overhear Drayden's conversations with the mysterious figure.

"Ok then," I relented. It was about time I had something to investigate.

* * *

About forty-five minutes later, Drayden and Skyla walked into the lobby with Vulcan following close behind. Everyone was present, except Vicus, apparently.

"All set to go?"

Misa was pouting over the fact she'd had to give up her bounty as soon as Seraph found her. When the Altaria asked the question, she harrumphed.

"She's good," I spoke in her stead.

"Ok, let's get going, then."

On the walk outside, I found most of my attention falling onto Skyla. She walked quietly with her head down, as if people were yelling at her as she walked by. I'd seen the Gym Leader a few times during our stay in Timberline, but it was hardly anything to make her remember me by.

I sighed, and made a decision. I took a moment to get into a cheerful state of mind before approaching the Gym Leader.

"Oh, hi," she said, adopting a smile. "You're just precious, aren't you?"

She bent down and picked me up. I refrained from struggling, and forced myself to wag my tail.

She scratched my head and carried me for the next minute or so, fiddling with my ears and petting me. Acting like I enjoyed it was quite the challenge. The way she held me was rather uncomfortable.

After a bit of time, Misa approached from down below.

"Hey pipsqueak! Quit the act and get the hell down here! We need to talk."

"Oh, it looks like your friend wants you," Skyla remarked. "Well, go ahead then."

She set me down lightly and pat my head one more time. Whether or not I'd booster her mood, I didn't know. Her team was confiscated, her nephew apparently on the run from the law. A simple gesture of friendliness couldn't possibly be much consolation.

"What do you want?" I asked Misa, annoyed.

"You know where we're goin'?"

"Opelucid. It's where Drayden and all the dragons live."

She sighed in discontent. "Whatever… When am I gonna be able to go back to the mountain?"

"Up there?" I asked, "By all means, leave when you can, but why in the world would you want to go back up there?"

"Pshh, like you need to know. If you don't know when I can leave then I'm done with you."

I rolled my eyes and walked ahead of her. The train station was coming up in the distance, completely deserted with the exception of two men in suits, standing on the platform.

"Who are they?" I asked, speeding up to walk beside Seraph.

"Nobody important, I'm sure they don't want-"

"Get the Zorua and the Axew on the train. Now. Nobody sees them."

Drayden continued walking forward after giving the order. Seraph, without hesitation, scooped me up in her wing. I sunk below the surface and could no longer see the outside world through a wall of white fluff.

I could only figure where we were going by the subtle jolts of movement. I knew enough to stay quiet, but the same couldn't be said about Misa.

About a minute later, Seraph's reassuring voice told me to come out.

We were now on the train, door closed behind us. Crag eyed me over for a moment before leaving for another car. Skipp and Seraph, as well as Misa, were all that were left.

The Axew was getting to her feet after being dropped off by Seraph. Presumably, she'd been hidden as well.

"Hey, hey! What was that for?"

"Sorry, Misa… I didn't want you two getting caught up in that."

"At least tell me what it was about!"

Instead of hearing Misa's incessant protests, I found myself eyeing a window. Curious, I jumped up onto the seat while Seraph was conversing with the Axew. An arguing group was outside, made up of the two man on one side, and Skyla, Drayden, and Vulcan on the other. I supposed the Haxorus was present for intimidation's sake.

"What are they talking about?" I asked behind me.

"Nox! Get away from the window!"

"Why?" I asked, turning, "It's not lik-AY."

Skipp grabbed me and stepped back. I struggled. As soon as we were away from the window, he set me back down.

"What's the problem?! They're just talking!"

"If those men see you, they will take you both away from us, do you understand?!" Seraph asked, wings ruffled. She looked twice as tall as normal from my perspective. My tail darted between my legs as I was left speechless.

"Arceus," the Altaria cursed, "Sometimes, you two will just have to trust us, and trust Drayden. Do you understand?"

I nodded without question, looking away timidly. I had no idea Seraph could look so intimidating. Even Skipp seemed caught off guard. Misa, the senseless dragoness she was, still huffed furiously.

The air buzzed with tension as all parties began to calm down. A minute passed with no words.

The pair of Gym Leaders boarded the train before anybody chose to speak. Seraph, Skipp, Misa, and I were all in a car adjacent to the corridor in which the train opened. After checking on us through a window in the door, angry tears in her eyes, Skyla stormed off the other way.

Drayden was soon to follow on the train with Vulcan, the former soon to open the door and address the group.

"Skipp, with me," he simply said with no greeting whatsoever. "Seraph, I'll have him catch you up with information later. Watch the hatchlings for now."

"Hey! Tell us what's going on!"

I grumbled at Misa's suggestion, gradually getting more and more annoyed with her stupid questions. Now was certainly not the time.

"He can't understand you," I pointed out emotionlessly. "That's how it works with humans and Pokémon."

Both Skipp and Seraph gave Misa a pleading glance, the former quick to step forward, towards his trainer.

Misa seemed ready to speak up again in protest, and having been watching her, I acted completely out of instinct to stop her.

The only thing coming to mind being whacking her in the head with a quick flick of my tail.

Despite its unconventionality, the action did its job flawlessly, succeeding in shutting her up. Content, I watched Drayden and company leave the room, closing the door behind them.

Thankfully, too. With the door now closed, the scream I was soon to let out was hopefully confined to our car alone.

The scream, prompted by an incredibly sudden surge of pain running up my spine, attracted the instant, panicked stare of Seraph.

I jumped into action, trying to scuttle away from the source, yelping all the way. I turned up fruitless, however, considering my progress was halted as what I imagined to be my tail held me in place.

Turning my head frantically, I was not surprised to find Misa on the other end, undoubtedly the source of the sudden pain.

What did surprise me, however, was the fact her jaw was clamped around my tail in a death grip.

Freaking out, I tried pulling away again, letting out another yelp as her grip did not falter.

"Misa!" I heard Seraph exclaim, "What on Earth are you doing?!"

"Teeathtinf fis mithle plipsqeek alezzun."

"Lemmegolemmegolemmegolemmego," I spewed mindlessly, cringing and unable to sit still. Never had I imagined a tail would cause so much pain. The appendage itself was mostly just fluff.

I saw Seraph advance on the two of us in the corner of my eye, but by the time she'd made it to us, I was already running away in an opposite direction, having been let go.

When I regained awareness of my senses, I found myself cowering under a four-legged chair, tucked into a table on one side of the car. While not exactly terrified, I found myself instinctively curling into a ball.

I shot a glare at the two dragons, the Axew who was spitting and hanging her tongue out her tongue in an attempt to get some hairs off it, and the Altaria, looking between the two of us in contemplation of what to do next.

"W-what was that for?!" I interrogated harshly, slowly getting over the shock. I turned my body in such a way where I could get a decent look at my tail.

"Pleh!" Misa exclaimed, rubbing her tongue with her hands to remove some stray black strands. "You taate howwible!"

"You're seriously going to pull something like that after I _just_ yelled at you both for your behavior?!"

"He deserved it!"

"No I didn't!"

"No one asked you, shortstack!"

"We haven't been on this train five minutes and you two are already at each other's necks!" Seraph interrupted our argument, fuming. "All you two have done is fight, ever since I've met either of you! Is it so hard to at least _pretend_ you two like each other?"

I tried giving some kind of excuse without thinking. "Seraph, I-"

"Not a word! I don't know what you did to set her off, and I don't care. We're all going to forget the last few minutes and be nice to each other for the rest of the trip. It doesn't take a psychic to know I don't want to spend the next seven hours with misbehaved hatchlings!"

I cringed, partly from Seraph's sudden hostility and partly because of the prediction Misa would speak up about being called a hatchling. With a few seconds of silence, though, I was shocked to find her fully turned towards the Altaria, soaking up her words with a mask of indifference.

Seraph shook herself out, ridding herself of the tension.

"Misa, apologize to Nox."

"What?! N-"

" _Apologize._ You're at least five months older than him. You should be protecting him, and more often than not you're the instigator."

"It was his fault! He whacked me with his tail on purpose!"

"You wouldn't shut up!" I interjected. "It was obvious Drayden needed time alone with Skipp, and you wouldn't stop being… You!"

Misa shot a glare, promising something detrimental if I were to continue. Realizing again the power she had over me by knowing my name, I looked away, seething.

" _You_ should say you're sorry, hmm? Admit the whole situation was your fault, and we'll be good."

I adopted an anxious look, hoping Seraph wouldn't notice the suggestion as a command. A reminder of the dangerous knowledge she held over me manifested as a guillotine ready to fall on my neck.

"Misa," the Altaria said, "don't you dare pin this o-"

"I'm sorry," I spoke as quickly as possible. I was unable to look either dragon in the eye. "I… Shouldn't have done that."

I briefly reverted my gaze towards Misa, finding the Axew wearing a victorious smirk. "See? That so hard, shrimp?"

"Now wait just a second," Seraph cut in, looking between the two of us incredulously. "You're not-"

The Altaria was interrupted by a jolt of the entire room, offsetting each of our balances. The sudden jolt was soon followed by the gradually increasing feeling of movement.

Naturally, Misa was very unnerved, falling to the floor as soon as the train started moving.

"W-what the hell's going on?" she interrogated anxiously, clinging to the ground. "T-the floor's moving!"

Seraph initial reaction to the Axew's uneasiness was indiscernible, but I was struggling not to laugh at her sudden change in demeanor, despite the constant pain radiating from my tail.

After basking in revenge's sweet taste for a few moments, though, I decided to speak up, crawling out from under my chair.

"The train's moving," I said matter-of-factly. "It's just taking us where we need to go. Calm down."

"I _am_ calm! You calm down!" she yelled, struggling to get a grip on the situation from the ground.

"Oh, by Ho-Oh's feathers…" I heard Seraph mumble. "We're all probably just… Hungry…"

"Not really," I responded, still watching Misa and struggling not to laugh.

In as gentle a tone as she could muster, the Altaria continued. "Yes, we _are_ , Nox. I'm going to go get us all some breakfast. Yes, that's a good idea. You two sort your issues out alone, and I swear on Xerneas' antlers, if you two are butting heads when I get back, I'm going to personally see this ride be miserable for you both. _Behave_."

I sat silently, somewhat in shock, as Seraph walked over towards the door opposite of where we entered. The Altaria gave both of us a skeptical glance before leaving altogether, shutting the door behind her.

I sighed, taking her leave as an invitation to examine my tail in its entirety. Besides some matted fur, nothing seemed to be out of line. It hurt terribly, though, prompting me to be tender as I raised it up near my face.

Misa, as I noticed maybe thirty seconds later, was shakily standing, holding her arms out for balance. A quick jostle of the train, however, sent her right back to the ground.

I couldn't help but snicker, standing flawlessly and trotting over to the disoriented Axew.

"Having fun?" I sneered, walking in tantalizing circles around her.

"Shut up!," she exclaimed, glaring, "Come here and help me get up!"

Rolling my eyes, I simply stood next to the Axew, allowing her to grip my fur tightly as she stood again.

"T-this thing is actually moving? How? It's so big!"

"Human technology," I answered simply. "It's bringing us a really long way, so we don't have to walk forever. A month-long journey in seven hours.

Breathing quickly, she grunted as she pulled herself up, yanking my fur harshly.

"Go… Over there," she commanded, waving her free arm frantically at a booth aligned with one of the walls.

Sighing, I took small steps forward, regrettably making sure the Axew wasn't falling.

"Who would've thought… The all-powerful Axew, Misa, would need help walking from a 'pipsqueak'?!" I chastised.

"Shut up or I'm gonna make you," she replied, using her grip on my fur to pull it painfully and suddenly. Such an action sparked a light growl.

"You deserved that," she defended herself as we approached one of the benches in the booth.

The bench itself, as I noticed, was much too high to climb up. I would have to jump, but I wasn't sure Misa was capable.

Noticing the predicament herself, she commanded me to crouch down. I wasn't able to figure out her intentions until she placed a foot on my spine, leaned forward to grab the edge of the bench, and placed her second foot on my forehead.

"Push up, shorty!"

 _Are you kidding me?_

"Some warning would've been nice," I retaliated, struggling to push upwards.

"You wouldn't have said yes," she responded, jumping up and down from on me in futile attempts to gain leverage.

Eventually, and with a yell from myself, I shoved upwards, somehow finding the strength to not only boost the Axew, but launch her into the air, somersaulting. I heard her grunt as she landed on her back from atop the bench.

Panting, I simply shook my head to recover, soon to spring onto the bench myself.

I sat silently next to Misa, who was laying spread-eagle, belly-up.

Her eyes locked in on mine, brows creasing. "Didn't have to go overboard on it, loser."

I shut my eyes, holding back a resentful response. Instead, I stepped beside and beyond the Axew, towards a window showing the outside.

"Hey, I'm talking to you! Where you goin'?"

"Seraph was really quick to take attention off of those two guys on the platform."

"So? Who cares about them?"

"Well, they're obviously important if they can take us away from Drayden. Seraph said it herself."

The Axew thought for a moment. "They're gone now, right? Probably good not to worry about 'em."

I groaned. She was missing the point, but I didn't have the energy to explain it to her.

"What are you doing?" she asked after a bout of silence from myself.

"Might as well look outside," I responded irritatedly. "Until Seraph gets back, I mean… Nothing better to do."

For once, the Axew was quiet. In the process of turning my head to confirm the anomaly, I was shoved into the seatback as a certain dragon struggled to get a glimpse out the window.

"Wow," she said as I recovered. "We're really, uh… Fast…"

"That's what I said earlier," I spat, shaking out my fur. "What did you think I was doing, lyi-"

I stopped my retort intentionally upon seeing Misa viewing the outside intently. Mountains passed us by in the distance, simple urbanization in the foreground. I supposed we were passing directly through Timberline. Brown and gray buildings, whether they be businesses or cabins, were strewn together in no specific pattern, nearly adjacent to the tracks.

"Th… There's a lot more hew-mans than I thought," Misa pondered verbally.

"This isn't even the majority," I explained, somewhat tentatively. "All over the world, there's billions and billions of humans… This is just a tiny piece."

Misa looked towards me, the annoyed glance I'd grown accustomed to now absent. Instead, she wore the look of undying curiosity I'd seen when I first met her. "How do you know all this stuff? About the… _Humans_ , I mean… You're so much younger than me…"

"I… Was born to humans," I replied. "They, uhh… It was really more learning through experience."

"Hmmph," she grunted. "My parents say the human-born hatchlings are weak and stupid."

"Well, you already know Jet, I think… He's human-born, and I don't think he's weak _or_ stupid."

"Jet's a human-born?! But he's so cool!"

"Who knows? Maybe your parents were wrong…"

This was, by far, the best conversation I'd ever had with the annoyance of an Axew, which wasn't saying much. I searched my mind for someway to manipulate the conversation as long as possible. Maybe Seraph would be convinced we'd gotten through our differences if she walked on us being civil.

"How do you know Jet, exactly? You said something about him a few days ago, but…"

Misa sent me a skeptical stare.

Sighing I put my full attention back into looking out the window.

Maybe ten minutes passed. Seraph hadn't yet returned, and we were now on the outskirts of Icirrus. Dry tundra and the occasional hill passed us by lazily, dotted every-so-often with higher-end neighborhoods. At times, I would watch humans, nothing more than little black dots, perhaps training Pokémon. I could see random, weaker moves flying, even at this distance.

My mind wandered back to my earlier journeying days, in which I was much like the trainers I saw in the distance. Train, battle, train. For whatever reason, the routine never seemed dull. All of my forbidden aspirations as a young child had been nearly everything I expected them to be.

Perhaps when I'd been the same age as the figures I saw in the distance, I had thought my journey, and all the trouble I had gone through in starting it, was ruined as soon as I was gifted with a female starter. It went against my predetermined game plan, so to speak. My ten-year-old self wanted a best friend, not some girly Pokémon I was stuck trying to make the most of.

Mentioning Jet had reminded me of the fact he still hadn't returned. It could be entirely possible he was dead, but I knew the Braviary better than that. Was he following us now? Was he captured by Brycen without my knowing? Skyla was worried about him, surely.

And the only reason I ever got his egg was because of her…

For the longest time, I resented her solely for the fact she'd been the one to suggest my going back to my hometown, in the hopes of reconciling with my parents.

I could have easily blown my cover by being too friendly to her in an effort to lift her spirits. Hell, a part of me simply wanted to spill the whole truth. Who knew? Maybe if she did know, she could help… It was the small things I overlooked when it came to the Gym Leader.

The egg was one of two laid by her Swanna and fathered by her Braviary, and considering Braviarys' tendency to be an all-male species, their genetics allowed for a single egg in the batch to be that of a Rufflet. A Rufflet egg she'd given to me.

"There's a big cave," I heard Misa speak, shattering the silence. At first, I thought she was referencing something she was seeing outside, but a quick look revealed the same, rolling plains, no cave to be found. "It's pretty far the mountain I found you on. I'm from there…"

I looked at her oddly. She'd just willingly told me something about herself.

"Why weren't you there, and on Twist?"

Misa laughed crossly. "Nice try, shrimp. I ain't tellin' you nothin' else about me. Got it? It's your fault I'm in this mess and not where I'm supposed to be, so why should I tell you?"

"To be nice?" I muttered to myself.

"Well, ya know what?" she responded, having apparently heard my retort, "If you're not gonna tell me your secrets, then why should I tell you mine?"

The door Seraph had left through was now being reopened. The Altaria herself walked through, soon to be quite surprised after learning we were sitting next to one another without issue.

She continued as if what she had to say was any other conversation. "We have a personalized car, complete with meals, ready for us."

I was the first to stand and jump to the ground, leaving Misa behind to join Seraph by the door.

Misa, after taking in as much scenery as possible, followed, shoving me aside as Seraph turned to leave.

Sighing, I followed the two dragons ahead of me.

After leaving the compartment we'd originally been in, the three of us walked a few cars down, until we'd reached a specific one. Behind a closed door in said car was a sleeping chamber, three Pokémon beds strewn across the ground.

Seraph had explained we wouldn't be using them for sleeping, but they would most definitely be more comfortable than standing around for hours.

Bowls, two of them with Pokémon food and one with the milk I'd grown to despise lay before us. Here I was now, trying to swallow the nauseous feeling soon to rise up after being faced with drinking it yet again.

Constantly heckled by Misa, I did in fact gulp most of it down, praying all the while for my teeth to be quick in growing. I pushed my leftovers aside.

Thankfully, the room we'd been assigned had a full floor-to-ceiling window attached, so I could watch the rolling hills pass by from inside my temporary bed.

To be perfectly honest, I found it quite comfy. My mind simply stepped over the fact I was laying in the same kind of bed I may have bought for Somin, Axle, or Vita while still a trainer.

The sun was high in the sky by the time I snapped from my trance, having had dozed off at least once. The forest we'd been riding parallel to for the longest time now seemed to encompass the train entirely. Towering pines flitted in front of my gaze for an instant before disappearing, replaced further by what was seemingly an endless forest.

I felt a hard poke in my side take me out of my watching the Unovan Landscape.

"Hey pipsqueak," Misa greeted, "I'm bored… Help me find something to do."

I rolled my eyes, turning back towards the window. "Well, you're not getting much help from me… It's not like we're going anywhere."

"Or so you thought. Come on, let's go."

"Wait," I responded, giving an instinctual look towards Seraph. She was sleeping soundly, facing away from the door. Was the Axew seriously insinuating we should step outside? "You can't be serious. She'll be even more mad if she catches us!"

"Which is what makes it all the more fun. Where's your sense of adventure, shrimp?" She smirked, "Or, would you rather go and spill the rest of your milk on Seraph, right now?"

I gave an anxious look towards the bowl, maybe still a quarter filled.

"You wouldn't," I challenged, scowling.

"You wanna test me? I'll put it simply for your little brain. Come help me find something to do, or your breakfast is Seraph's newest outfit. Or I could always, you know… Let my lip slip, maybe call you by a name you don't want anyone hearing?"

* * *

"This is stupid," I groaned as Misa shifted her weight atop me, attempting to grab the door handle. We'd already traveled three cars without incident, but I surely didn't want to push my luck.

"Says you. What do you know? We can go back to whatever boring thing you were doing after we find something fun."

"Oh, like what?" I hissed in response. The Axew was soon to jump down from my spine after opening the door.

"I dunno. I'll know when I see it."

"And if Seraph wakes up and finds us gone?"

"Usual plan, of course," she replied, mocking a sophisticated manner of speech, "you take the blame and we're all good."

I groaned, following the pompous Axew, walking aloofly, through the door and into the next compartment.

"This isn't exactly fair," I muttered to myself.

"What did you expect?" she responded, apparently having heard me. "If you're my slave, I'm sure as hell gonna make you feel like it."

The car we (or, more suitably, I) snuck through simply consisted of passenger seating, booths lining either wall. They would provide sufficient cover in the case it was necessary to hide.

Without words, the Axew and I, upon reaching the opposite end of the car, went about opening the door. Regrettably, I subjugated myself once again to the role of a stepstool, crouching next to the door and allowing the small, yet heavy dragon abuse my spine with her weight.

"Hurry up," I hissed, "this hurts!"

"Patience, young one," she mocked, stomping down from atop my back with the purpose of making my suffering even worse.

I nearly collapsed as I heard the door click, Misa finally having been able to open it. The Axew was quick to jump down, run around me, and push open the door.

I was in the process of following her inside the next car, stretching my back, when my sensitive hearing picked up something from the far side. I gave it my attention, a slight clicking sound, from the other end of the car.

Eyes widening, I hardly had the time to sprint after Misa and shove her into one of the booths on our left before it was too late. She looked ready to start yelling, but stopped, thankfully, after I put a paw to her mouth.

Footsteps could be heard approaching us from where I'd heard the click, what I had affirmed to be the door on the opposite side opening.

Multiple creatures approached us, some steps sounding heavy as compared to others.

"-should tell her about Vicus," my ears perked as Skipp's voice permeated the air. "It's only fair."

"Vicus'll show himself if he wants to. Otherwise, we keep our yaps shut," the Druddigon's fairly unfamiliar voice followed.

"Yeah, but Skyla should at least know why we're going against the league here. She has no idea."

Vulcan hopped into the mix as the first pair of feet, Drayden's, passed by the booth we hid under.

"It's worth asking him about. I doubt he'll be very happy with the proposition, but seeing Skyla like this is simply demoralizing. Either way, I doubt she'd tell anyone."

The Druddigon scoffed. "Whaddaya think of this whole mess, Drayden?" he asked, both him and Skipp passing by.

I could hear the footsteps pause, my silent-as-possible breathing making the only noise.

"The doors are open," the Gym Leader spoke.

"Someone probably just forgot to close 'em," Druddigon responded. His trainer made no response, leading me to question why the dragon had addressed him directly.

Maybe ten seconds passed in silence, Vulcan's feet stationary maybe four feet in front of me.

"Vulcan, Crag," Drayden spoke, undoubtedly turning towards his dragons, "Check back by the engine room, make sure nothing's wrong. Afterwards, make your way back to Skyla's room. I can't shake the feeling something's off…"

"Yeah, sure," the Druddigon responded.

"Skipp, with me. This'll all be much easier to explain to Skyla if you're there."

"Oh… Okay."

Before I knew it, they were gone, two of the dragons heading back the way they came while Drayden and Skipp proceeded towards where Misa and I had come.

I heard the door we'd just gone through close, allowing me to sigh in relief.

Misa was quick to smack me on the back of the head in reprimand. "Some warning would've been nice."

I shrugged, shaking out my head from the slap I'd received. It didn't sting much, thankfully.

"We should go back," I was soon to suggest, "They're obviously gonna talk with Skyla, and we need to be back before they find out we're gone."

The Axew's expression seemed irked.

"Disagreement?"

"We didn't do anything out here! We gotta do _something_ before we leave."

I groaned. "We'll be in Opelucid in just a few hours now. Go and do whatever then. Just please listen to me for now. What we heard them saying was enough excitement, don't you think?"

With the question, I started pondering the conversation itself. The subject matter, while extremely confusing, was surely worrying.

There went that name again, thrown about in an ominous manner. Vicus… The way Drayden was speaking led me to make the connection the mysterious figure was his superior, in a way. That was impossible, though, wasn't it? I'd never heard of the man, and surely, someone that highly ranked in the league would be known far and wide.

Of course, there was the hint at defiance directed towards the league. My mind snapped back to the men confronting Drayden as I boarded the train, how belligerent he seemed. Was this 'Vicus' somehow pushing Drayden to disobey the organization his was a high-ranking official in? If so, how had he done it? While my curiosity sparked, I knew getting back to Seraph without being caught was first priority.

"Come on," I told Misa, hoping to trick her successfully. "We can probably go see what Drayden and Skipp went to talk to Skyla about on our way back."

Thankfully, the promise seemed to coax the Axew, enough to prompt her to concede and assist me in opening the doors Drayden and Skipp had closed behind them.

Her definition of 'assist', of course, was an even rougher approach to climbing on my back than when we'd come.

* * *

"Do you have any idea how hard this is to do?" I protested as Misa's foot lodged itself in one of the worst places possible, a small area on the back of my neck. Some snide comment from the Axew, something along this lines of 'put your back into it', was the bridge from simple annoyance to complete irateness.

Somehow, we'd managed getting back three cars without being caught. In maybe another three was the room in which we were supposed to be, while I figured Skyla's room, as we'd passed it on our little misadventure, was only a car or two away.

Suddenly, Misa hopped off, waving me forward to assist her with sliding the door open. As we'd done previously, we closed the door shut after entering through it, learning from past mistakes.

"Quit your yappin'," she commanded as we approached the next door. "My job ain't easy, either."

"Yeah, but yours doesn't hurt."

"Oh, grow up. You're never getting anywhere if you keep being a wuss forever."

"I'd like to see you try and do it…" I retorted quietly.

"What was that?" she asked, "I didn't quite hear you there, _slave_."

It was fairly obvious she'd heard me…

"Nothing… Ma'am…"

With my resignation, I crouched by the door, ready to proceed. Proceed she did, making extra sure to 'accidentally' scratch my hide as she climbed up.

On the other side of this door was an incredibly thin hallway, more so than cars previous. Either side was bordered by walls, doors leading into the space behind their respective cover. I could hear the faint sounds of conversation from the door on the left.

Praying Misa wouldn't hear it, I continued on as if nothing were amiss. I knew what lay beyond that door, and was not exactly eager to stick around and be found.

"Hey," Misa whispered harshly, "where ya goin'? They're in there!"

"Oh, right," I groaned, turning to find the Axew, sizing up the door as if an enemy.

Sighing, I joined her. "We should probably just listen in, maybe have the door open and ready in case we need to run."

The dragoness ignored me, proceeding to press her ear up against the door in over-exaggerated espionage.

I just stood by, ready to bolt with the first sign of footsteps headed towards the door. Giving in to curiosity, however, I listened to the conversation, easily audible, at least to me, from behind the thin walls.

"-on Twist…" Drayden said. I hadn't gotten wind of the full sentence.

I did hear, however, the shocked gasp that came from Skyla. "What? What are you talking about? Of course he is!"

"No… While it's right to check and make sure, I've been advised that he isn't anywhere around there. Neither is the Braviary."

"Where does your 'intelligence' think they are, then?" she burst, obviously upset.

"He doesn't know…"

"He?! You believe the word of one person over the facts _you_ saw for yourself?"

Drayden remained silent.

"Is this guy the same prick who told you to help me in the first place?"

"No."

"Tell me how he knew! Now! Was he involved with the whole thing?!"

"No."

"Stop being so secretive! TELL ME!"

The male Gym Leader did not speak.

"Damn it Drayden! I don't know if you've noticed, but the entire world is out for my nephew's blood! _Mew_ was involved with all of it. You know more than I do about what's going on. He's _my_ nephew, and I'm the only family he has! Spill it!"

"Skyla," I heard Skipp's voice cut in, "Calm down, ple-"

"Flygon, just don't right now. This is between me and him only."

I was getting anxious with how the conversation was turning. It turned out, despite my being the center of literally everything transpired, I knew little in comparison to Drayden.

"They tried to take his _team_ , Drayden. Gone, just like that! And while I glad you protected, I need to know _why_. Do you really care, or were you just fighting the league representatives on the platform just because this _Vicus_ prick said he still needed Ray's team?"

 _Th… They tried to take my team?_

"It was fairly obvious I had the team in my possession. The league wouldn't have known otherwise. And no, Vicus hasn't explicitly requested Ray's team to be kept with us. The Zorua and the Axew, on the other hand-"

"Nox and Misa? What on earth does he want with them?!"

Silence.

My heart was racing, mind growing even more confused. Did this 'Vicus' know my true identity? Was that it?

"Misa," I whispered, "we should go."

The Axew, cheek still pressed against the door with a creased eyebrow, gave no response.

" _Misa_ ," I tried again, placing a paw on her shoulder in hopes of snapping her out of the argument. Upon making contact, she simply swatted me away with a backhand to the paw.

"Who is he?" Skyla asked, defeated. "The only reason I haven't told anyone about your little _scheme_ is because of how much I _hate_ the league right now."

"It's not a scheme," Drayden responded. "We're all working for the greater good here."

"Bullshit! You're just a puppet! You obviously don't know what this guy's intentions are, so why do you listen to him?!"

"It's a partnership. He sees what many of us cannot."

Skyla, tired of trying to uncover the truth Drayden kept dancing around, approached a different topic.

"So, you didn't tell the league about Mew, huh?"

I froze upon hearing the suggestion.

"No, I did not. I wouldn't have been able to keep her otherwise."

 _He… No one knows about Mew? Not even the league? What the hell is he thinking?_

"They don't know Nox and Misa even exist, do they?! Why else would you hide them?"

"I'm sure if their existence was known, we would be having a very different conversation right now."

Skyla laughed bitterly. "Looks like this whole conversation was a bust. All I learned is that you're just a lying asshole."

"Skyla-"

"You wanna do something good?" she asked belligerently. "If you're not gonna tell me anything, at least clear Ray's name and get my team back! Every day, he's getting blamed more and more, and it's _your_ fault for keeping all this information from everyone!"

Drayden didn't answer, as if in contemplation.

"Did you even hear me?" Skyla yelled, voice cracking, "I told you what to do! Open your eyes and respond!"

Skipp's worried voice cut back into the mix, anxious as to what was going on. "Skyla, interrupting him while he's like this probably isn't the bes-"

"Drayden! Answer me!"

"There's someone outside."

My eyes widened, instantly brought out of the land of thought. Panicking, I got on the other side of Misa and shoved her towards the door. Thankfully, for once, she seemed to be taking the situation cautiously, responding to my shove by running ahead.

There was no way we would be able to open the door in time through our usual means. Thinking quickly, and as Misa approached it, I picked up my sprint to full speed. Instead of slowing as I reached the Axew, I leaped, front paws, and instantly afterwards, back paws landing on either shoulder. I extended, snagging a grip of the door on my way down from the arc.

I twisted my body, yanking the door open as far as possible. Misa was quick to recover, getting up and diving behind the still-opening door for cover. As for myself, I simply unlatched my paw from the handle, and in one swift motion, joined her.

Breathing heavily, I came to a rest, instantly silent and cowering with the Axew. Without a moment to spare, I heard the door to Skyla's room slam open, followed by a low growl.

I cringed as I heard footsteps walking towards us. I thought for sure, during that moment, we were caught.

"No one's here," Skipp's cautious voice announced. His tone was offstandish and aggressive, nothing short of a complete character change. I saw a green claw, from my perspective, grip the door.

In an instant, the sliding door was flung open. I shrunk back into our hiding spot as an incredibly intimidating Flygon, claws alit with draconic energy, stepped through the door in battle position.

I hid myself fully from sight right then, riding out the next few seconds without a single breath.

"Door was left open," Skipp's voice spoke, "Whoever it was got away."

"Find them! If that information gets off this train, the entire operation will have been for nothing!"

Rushed footsteps, most likely Drayden's, faded away as the Gym Leader ran in the opposite direction. Skipp continued cautiously down the hallway we were hiding in.

As soon as the Flygon came into view, an epiphany fell upon him as his intimidating demeanor faded. A look of fear flashed across his face for a moment before he just about flew past us and through the door on the opposite end.

Misa broke down as soon as the door shut behind him, a mix between laughing and panting.

I myself, though, was growing increasingly worried, both about the conversation and the fact that Skipp was speeding off in the direction we were supposed to be headed.

Misa whooped quietly, slugging me in the arm, hard. After my initial reaction of pain, I simply stepped away.

" _Never_ , never do that again," the Axew reprimanded, though not without adrenaline in her words. It nearly sounded like she was joking.

"Did you not hear what they said?" I replied exasperatedly, "Someone wants us for something, and we have no idea what… You're not at all anxious?"

"Nah, not really."

 _Are you serious?_

"Besides," she continued, a devious glare forming on her face, "there's a lot more important stuff to talk about."

I tilted my head, still breathing laboriously.

"'Clear Ray's name and get my team back' were Skyla's exact words," she continued. "So, _Ray_. Wanna tell me what that's about?"

"I, uhh…"

 _Oh crap… What do I tell her? I can't say I'm human, but that's the only explanation that'll pass. C'mon, think… Think!_

"W-we need to get back to Seraph, now… If Skipp was going where I think he was going-"

"What in Arceus' good green earth do you think you two are doing?!"

Frightened, I jumped at the sound of the new voice. Fur standing on end, I gazed upon an obviously irate Altaria with my widened eyes. Skipp stood directly behind her.

"Seraph, I can-"

"No, do you _not_ know what stay put means?! Was it not already obvious you two were in enough trouble?!"

"Well, y-yes, but…"

The dragoness ruffled her wings, menacing glare sent in my direction. I surely didn't find myself comfortable under the scrutiny of such a powerful beast, once again.

"Misa, get out from under there. You're just as much guilty as Nox is."

"N-no," I offered, remembering Misa's command to take the blame should we get caught. "It's… Uh… My fault."

The Axew's head poked out from her cover, sending an anxious glance towards Seraph.

"Oh, is it now?" Seraph asked, mocking amusement.

I shot a nervous glance towards Misa, intimidated by Seraph's sarcasm.

"Well?"

"I, umm… I asked Misa to come with me cause I, uh… I was getting motion sickness."

Seraph's eye twitched as I heard the door slide open behind me. I cringed, feeling each and every individual stare in that moment.

Drayden, Crag, and Vulcan entered through the door, fanning out behind both Misa and I.

"I think we found the eavesdroppers, Drayden," Skipp pointed out.

The human, quite surprisingly, seemed more intimidating than any of the dragons. I shut my eyes tight, praying that somebody would just yell at me and be through with it.

Even Misa was scared, making this perhaps the first time I'd seen her _truly_ terrified.

"Sneaky little hatchlings, aren't you both?"

"I-I-I-"

"They're both to be isolated from each other until I can figure out how to go about this," Drayden announced, turning away.

Misa was too terrified to respond. I was in much of the same state, yet somehow worse off. Drayden exuded an air about him that I simply couldn't feel comfortable around. His aura was one of intimidation.

Skipp stepped from behind us and grabbed both Misa and I, one in each claw. I fell completely limp and passively watched as the Flygon took us away from the situation.

"What _exactly_ did you two hear?" he hissed as we walked out of earshot.

"I-I don't know… Just, p-please, we're sorry."

"You scared all of us. For a moment, Seraph and I thought someone had taken you. When we give you an order, know there's _always_ a reason behind it."

"O-ok…"

"Misa?"

"Mhmm," the dragoness responded submissively, unwilling to provide any resistance.

Skipp entered an empty room and set me down on the floor.

"L-look…" he said, slowly slipping back into his old demeanor, "I don't think I have to tell you to stay here this time, right?"

I shook my head rapidly.

"Good. Seraph will come in here in a little bit to talk to you."

After sighing, the Flygon smiled somewhat before closing the door, taking Misa with him.

I stared at the door for a long while, thinking as my tail slowly removed itself from between my legs. That situation had gone from bad to terrifying in the blink of an eye.

I hopped onto the lower bunk of the bunk bed in the small compartment before laying down and curling up.

For a few moments, I wanted nothing more in the world than to feel Vita curling up around me comfortingly… I wanted to see my friends. I was tired of being stuck. Stuck, without ability to move or take initiative. I was simply along for the ride as everything I knew and loved was snatched from under my feet.

I was behind enemy lines, and it was important I remembered so.

* * *

I woke up maybe forty-five minutes later to the sound of the door sliding open and shut.

I raised my head to see Seraph standing just beyond the doorway. Neither of us greeted each other initially.

The dragoness's gaze told indifference, but I could see the softness in her eyes.

"I'm sorry we scared you earlier…" I broke the ice.

"I should be apologizing for the same thing… All of us more than escalated the situation, but I'm afraid I let my emotions overcome my senses… You're just a hatchling, and at times it's hard to remember that."

She approached the bed, sending me a questioning glance. I nodded in return, moving over so she could get onto the bed.

"The truth is that we _do_ care about you, Nox. I know that discussion between Drayden and Skyla may have made you think otherwise, but context is necessary…"

"Who's Vicus?"

The question seemed to throw her off guard, as if she wasn't expecting me to respond so quickly.

"Vicus, well… He's been our friend for a very long time."

"That's what Skipp said… You guys just give the same answers that tell me nothing. Why haven't I met him?"

Seraph sighed, "Vicus is very introverted. Do you know what that means?"

I nodded.

"He's a genius, but he'd much rather know as little people as possible. Nine times out of ten, he only ever wants to see Drayden and Vulcan exclusively."

"Why's everyone so secretive about him? I heard Skyla say that Drayden is doing some bad stuff for Vicus… Is that true?"

Seraph smiled. "No, child, Vicus never has Drayden do anything that is too immoral. Though, sometimes people need to do questionable things for the greater good."

I looked at her oddly.

She chuckled to herself. "I don't expect you to understand, but you deserve to know either way. No more secrets between us, okay?"

I nodded.

"Vicus and Drayden met when Drayden was very young. He helped Drayden through some very hard times, and, well… They've been friends ever since. Vicus knows that Ray is innocent in this whole situation, and wants to find out where he is. Drayden's bosses in the league, however, don't like that idea. It's all just one long story that's not very important, but the reason he needs you and Misa is because he wants to protect you both from all the mean people that think Ray actually did something bad. Do you understand?"

I nodded again, despite the fact I didn't believe her. The explanation was less than satisfactory.

"Good, good… Now, I've already spoken with Misa, and she told me all about the little deal the both of you have."

 _She did WHAT?!_

"I know there's a secret you're trying to keep from me, Nox, but Misa wouldn't say what it was. She was quite adamantly against it," she chuckled.

"O-oh…"

"Do you want to tell me?"

I looked away.

"N-No, not really…"

 _She knows something's up… Misa didn't tell her, that's probably enough to work off of. I need to get Seraph off my back before she starts getting suspicious._

"I don't very much like this game the two of you are playing… She's bullying you, Nox, and blackmailing you."

"I know…"

"Then you should tell me what it is that's so important to you… You know you can tell me anything, right?"

I scrambled my mind for an answer.

"I… I know, but, it's really, really embarrassing, and I-"

"I promise not to make fun of you or think any differently of you. Nothing you could say would alter my opinion. I think you're a very gifted and kind little Zorua that I want to help."

"Well, um… Maybe once I know you a little better? I haven't even known you guys for a week yet…"

Seraph remained silent for a moment before chuckling softly to herself. "I understand… Know I'm ready if and when you want to come to me."

"Thanks…"

"Now, I also know Misa pressured you into leaving with her, and this whole situation is hardly your fault."

I chuckled nervously for a moment.

"She told me that, if I didn't go with her, she was gonna make me spill my milk all over you."

Seraph tilted her head at me for a moment before breaking out into laughter.

"Well then, that's quite interesting," she choked out between laughs. "She is really pushing her power, hmm?"

I nodded bashfully.

"You _could_ end this whole 'slave' situation right now, but I won't force you to tell me your secret. Just know that Misa isn't as big and mean as she says she is."

I sent her an empty smile with all the fake emotion I could put behind it.

"That's all I wanted to talk to you about."

"Really?"

The Altaria nodded.

"That conversation you overheard was pointless, and more than anything, Drayden was trying to calm Skyla's nerves about your trainer. She really misses him. Nothing else you heard is anything you wouldn't have learned eventually."

I nodded my head in understanding.

"Are you still mad?" I asked innocently.

"Somewhat, though I know it's not my place to let my anger out on a very young Zorua who was pressured into an unfortunate situation. Though, you will be staying here in timeout for the rest of the trip as punishment."

I sighed internally.

"Okay…"

Seraph got back up and stepped towards the door.

"I'll see you in a few hours. Please behave."

"Yes ma'am."

She smiled warmly before stepping out of the compartment and closing the door behind her. As soon as the latch clicked shut, I sprawled out across the bed and groaned in relief.

 _God dammit Misa._

* * *

Drayden and his team were waiting for Seraph as she entered the room. The Gym leader himself sat in a booth, the only one small enough to do so.

Vulcan stood nearby, watching Seraph warily, while Crag seemed to be fixated on something outside the window.

"So, how'd it go?" Skipp welcomed Seraph.

"Fine, at least I hope so… Poor thing was scared to death. I'm sure you coming out of your shell didn't help either, Skipp."

"W-well, I mean… I thought we were in danger… I was scared too. For you guys and for me."

Seraph forced a weak smile.

"None of that matters now… How much did the hatchling hear?"

"Just about all of it… 'The hatchling' has a name, Drayden."

The Gym Leader sighed as he absorbed the Altaria's words. In privacy, he wasn't afraid to answer her directly.

"How does _Nox_ feel regarding what was said?"

"I… I can't really tell… I did what you said and tried to make it sound insignificant, but I don't know if he bought it."

"What about your other experiments, then?" Drayden continued, rising from his chair and beginning to pace.

"I don't understand how-"

"Your other experiments."

"I… He never seems oblivious, that much is certain… I've gone out of my way to use an advanced vocabulary and he understands me perfectly…"

"And you told me earlier that he isn't a fan of a child's treatment?"

"Well, it's not like he has a child's mind, like every other hatchling his age. I think Mew did much more than just talk to him while he was developing."

"My thoughts the same. I have a theory, but in all honesty there's too many conflicting variables to be considered even remotely accurate."

"Well," Seraph continued, "he's a sweet child at heart. Confused, if not anything else."

Drayden remained silent.

"My suggestion would be to let him see his team," Vulcan spoke for the first time. "If we're to be committed to creating a pressure-free environment to let him open up, then that would be the best option."

"They would just give him advice to use against us..."

"Skipp, I thought you would be the one supporting me here," Vulcan stated, disapproving.

"His team knows that something's fishy, and they'll tell Nox not to trust us. Either way, I-I… I don't like Somin. Even from the little bit I've known him and from what Nox has told us about him, it doesn't take a genius to figure out he's not a good influence. Just an angry Zoroark."

"He's his father, ain't he?" Crag piped up. "I don't think there's much stoppin' him."

"They're not related," Vulcan corrected the Druddigon. "It wouldn't make sense. After laying eggs, most 'mon, including Serperior, aren't fertile for at least two years. Nox's egg could only be about a year old, at most, if he hatched just a few weeks ago. We know, though, that Vita and Somin have an egg now. Nothing adds up."

"Somin could've just as easily knocked up someone else and kept the egg. That whole story about 'Ray had it before Lavaridge' seemed fishy."

Silence fell over the room.

"Skyla told me once about Somin," Drayden said, "She said Somin may be of questionable morality, but he's unendingly loyal. Yet, I find it highly coincidental someone left a Zorua egg in the middle of nowhere. They're a rare species, after all."

"Didn't Skyla say Ray worked at the daycare in Mistralton?" Seraph pointed out.

"Three years ago… Any egg would surely be dead if it hadn't hatched in that period of time."

Silence once again.

"I'll check daycare records in Alston's name, see if I can find an adoption certificate," Drayden cut back in after sitting out the moment's prior. "Something's very, very wrong with that child, and we're going to find what. Skipp, you were there when that nurse in Timberline took the Zorua's energy readings."

"Yeah, the machine was broken… What about it?"

"I think we shouldn't completely shove the results from our mind… Until we can get a _real_ energy reading for him, we need to move on. You and Seraph have done more than enough work on him and have exhausted just about every possibility. He trusts you both, right?"

"I mean… He's wary, as he should be…"

"Nevermind that. It's your turn, Crag."

"Me?" the Druddigon responded gruffly, "I hardly know the kid, and I doubt he likes me. What am I supposed to do?"

"Well, what better way is there to gauge how strong this child is? And who better to teach him how to control said potential power? You have a greater dark-type arsenal than anyone here."

"Wait wait wait wait wait… Drayden… You're askin' me to train the kid to fight?"

"I'm not asking… I'm commanding.

* * *

 **Nothing much to say about this chapter, other than the fact the plotline changed A TON. I couldn't make decisions surrounding tons of events, and I was often left in dead-ends I couldn't dig myself out of.**

 **In other news, though, I'm now a part of a discord server with tons of other writers and fans of other stories! It would be great if you all joined, as we're trying to increase the active pool of members in order to more easily circulate ideas and get criticism. I've provided an invite code below, just press "Join Server" and paste it there.**

 **See you all in two weeks!**

 **Invite Code:** **trZCsj5**


	16. A Fitting Welcome

**l**

 **Chapter XV - A Fitting Welcome**

* * *

I exhaled, readying myself before opening a connection. The rough, inconsistent flow of energy I had not yet been able to control fluidly began.

 _Come on… I can feel it. Just feed it a little more power._

It helped to imagine a dull hum in my head as energy coursed in and around me. I'd decided, for whatever reason, to let my forehead be the point in which my connection began and ended.

The air wavered ever so slightly in front of me. I clenched my eyes shut, breathing deeply.

 _Almost there…_

Ten seconds had passed with some of the hardest concentration I'd ever mustered. The image in my head had to occupy all spaces, replace all thoughts.

I felt it then; a sensation not unlike a timer going off in my head. I opened my eyes.

"YES!" I just about screamed before beginning to prance around the room, letting my weak illusion fizzle from existence.

My muscles protested and core quivered from using too much energy, but I hardly cared. The simple, misshapen apple I'd created using my mind was enough to fill my entire being with a sense of pride.

Making objects was as simple as making a connection with myself and imagining, as hard as I could, a small object. The problem came with thinking of the specifics. The exact shape, the exact location; it all had to be predetermined. I'd had no idea it was so extensive, but I'd succeeded nonetheless.

Albeit, the apple I'd created was deformed and ugly, looking nothing like a real fruit. The details I could work on, but at the very least I had a baseline to work off of.

Hours had passed since Seraph left, and I found myself with nothing better to do than to practice Illusions. I still hadn't taken care of the excess energy I'd had from earlier, and was glad to find my reserves were abundant by my standards.

I heard a small grunt outside before the door slowly slid open. I stopped in my revelry for a moment to turn and see what it was.

"What're you so happy about?"

Misa hadn't asked the question in a hurtful sort of way, as I'd expected. Instead, she seemed simply curious. I peered at her oddly before responding.

"Nothing really, I just did something with Illusions that I couldn't before…"

"Huh, whatever… Seraph asked me to get you. We're about to stop apparently."

Curious, I turned and hopped onto the bed in order to look out the window. The landscape was widely suburban in feel, though I could see some skyscrapers far off in the distance.

 _Here we go, then…_

I joined and stepped outside my partitioned area with Misa, looking both ways for any signs of life in the car before me. Seraph was to the right, looking out the window with a sense of wellbeing.

"Are you ready?" she said after looking over the pair of us. "I'm so excited to be able to share our home with you both. I'm sure you'll love it."

I smiled, silently thanking her for the gesture.

"We're going to be flying once we get off this train and out of the station. Are you two alright with that?"

I nodded, indifferent on the matter. Misa seemed stunned for a moment before giving her own approval.

"Are we out of trouble, then?" Misa asked coolly, crossing her arms.

"Well, that all depends on how you behave from here on out," Seraph smiled, "Do you think you've learned your lesson?"

Misa scoffed ever so slightly as the train began to slow. Her eyes widened as she, planning ahead this time, grabbed a hold onto a nearby booth seat for support.

Seraph and I shared a quick look of amusement.

"I'm going to give you both fair warning, though… We _do_ have to hide you again. I hope it's not too much trouble."

"No, I think we both understand," I put forth before Misa could say otherwise.

The train, not long after, came to a complete stop with a small jerk, causing me to stumble.

"Here we go, then."

Onto the platform we went, now covered by an incredibly tall roof. The building was extravagant, to say the least, domes of copper far above lined with crystal-clear windows illuminating each and every crevasse of the train station.

The station itself was eerily deserted; no other trains occupied any of the tracks, and every store was boarded up, no people around whatsoever.

Drayden and Skyla exited from the next car over, with Skipp following close behind. I tried getting a gruesome image of the Flygon out of my head, but failed miserably. Even if he was now his normal self, I could not forget the state of mind he'd slipped into when he was angry. I didn't think I would ever again look at his claws without imagining them encased in a harsh, blue fire.

Drayden beckoned us with a flick of his head and began ascending a nearby flight of stairs. A few stories up, I could see a platform with grand doors, currently closed.

Seraph lifted both Misa and I off the ground.

"I'll tell you both when it's time to hide yourselves," she said calmly. "Once we're in the air, you both can come out."

Seraph met up with Skipp and sent him a silent greeting. The Flygon, acting as if nothing was wrong, simply smiling back.

We started up a flight of spiraling stairs, destination approximately three stories above. The steps themselves were constructed with a dark steel which I could only imagine as freezing to the touch.

We halted suddenly. I could hear the sharp sounds of Drayden snapping. I figured out what that meant promptly before Seraph gave the command.

"Hide, now," the Altaria hissed quietly. I was quick to obey, immersing myself in the opaque fluff of her wings. Misa presumably did the same, without question.

We continued forwards once again and eventually leveled out. I could hear the faint sounds of agitated conversation over a dull roar of sorts. As we moved forwards, the roar only grew to be louder and louder.

I was able to pick up on the distinct words of 'we can't stop them'. A thousand alarms rang in my head right then as I picked up on what was happening.

The roar only grew even more audible, eventually becoming more vivid and more focused. A constant buzz, the sound of chaos…

Either I was simply hearing things due to my submersion in Seraph's fluff, or there was a mob outside; thousands of voices all calling angrily for the same thing.

Me.

Meanwhile, Drayden, outside my vision, was rapidly approaching a short, fat man who was waiting for them beside the doors.

"What's the meaning of this?!" Drayden exclaimed, reaching out and grabbing the man by his white undershirt, already drenched with sweat.

"L-look, Drayden, we couldn't set up anything to stop them until-"

"Useless! My _one_ request was that our arrival be kept secret and a few, inconspicuous guards were posted! Does this look at all safe to you?!" Drayden gestured towards the doors as he roughly let the man go.

"We've cleared a path for you as best we can, b-but these people are angry, Drayden, and they have every right to be."

Silence ensued afterwards; neither man spoke before Drayden addressed Skyla.

"You're to take Flygon and leave without us as soon as we go through those doors. He'll take you straight to the Gym and out of all this mess."

The short man began to speak again.

"We have cars arranged for your whole party outs-"

"You be quiet!" Drayden snapped. "For all I know, _you're_ the one that leaked our arrival and left us with a mob to deal with! You've failed in every aspect of your duty, so tell me why I should give you even the slightest ounce of trust!"

No response.

"Seraph, you're to follow them with the cargo; we don't need any added risk."

Drayden was quick to unlatch two Pokéballs from his belt. The telltale mechanical whoosh of their opening drowned out all other noise for a moment.

"You two heard everything?"

Vulcan snorted in disdain while Crag stepped towards the nervous man, licking his lips and giving an odd, hungry smirk. At Drayden's command, though, the Druddigon backed off and formed up behind him.

"The remaining three of us will simply have to do with walking to the Gym. It is a nice day, after all, and one of the only ones left this year."

Crag had a nice, evil chuckle at the notion. He seemed excited to face the crowd.

No other words were exchanged before Drayden pushed the short man out of his path. He let out a short grunt as he stumbled backwards and landed on his backside.

With confidence, Drayden stepped up to the entrance, rolled his neck, and sighed before throwing open both doors before him.

He was right; the sun was shining today with scattered clouds and a smooth wind. He would've liked the serenity of peace on this given day, though it was currently a luxury he couldn't enjoy. The mob grew ever louder, each individual scream compiling into one cacophony as Drayden stepped into view. As commanded, Skyla was quick to board Skipp and take off.

I dug my claws into Seraph's wings as she took off as well, the sudden movement certainly unpleasant. If she felt my reaction, she made no indication. After maybe ten seconds or so, I pushed my head outwards to surface.

I squinted as the wind battered my face, but I quickly redirected my attention back towards the ground.

Drayden descended the quartz steps before the train station, showing no signs of concern as he initially hit the wall of people. A crude path had been made for him with old, wooden barriers. It was almost as if no effort whatsoever had been put into crowd control.

Drayden disappeared in the mob itself; Crag and Vulcan's very distinctive heads were still visible.

We then flew out of sight; the entire scene was shrouded behind buildings. Narrowing my eyes further, I turned back around.

Was the Gym Leader legitimately that confident? Surely he wanted to show no weakness, but was a show of raw and reckless strength the best decision at the moment?

Giving the issue some thought, I reasoned that I shared his concern regarding the lack of police involvement regarding the restraining of the mob. If our arrival was supposed to be kept secret, it meant his plans had been leaked… There were people willing to put him in danger to deter against protecting me.

Was I being selfish? Drayden was obviously going out of his way to keep my team, including Mew, intact.

His conversation with Skyla flashed once again in my mind. He _needed_ me for something. I realized he wasn't helping me or my team out of the goodness of his heart, nor was he doing the same for Skyla.

Vicus, wherever he was and whatever he wanted, was a threat. Why he took interest in a Zorua and an Axew I had no clue, nor did I plan to find out why firsthand.

The flight itself was relatively short; near the end I shared a small glance with Misa. She seemed ticked at me for whatever unknown reason, though she didn't seem to display her usual fervor.

I waited to open my mouth until we began to descend, but promptly shut it once again when Skipp came into view, flying towards us with Skyla still on his back. Both dragons met in the air and hovered.

"There's a bunch of people in front of the Gym, and the courtyard cover is up!" Skipp yelled over the wind. "We gotta land near the entrance and give Skyla a chance to unlock the doors!"

Seraph nodded and turned her head towards me. I myself nodded before burrowing my head once again below the surface of her fluff.

A few seconds later, we began descending, much more slowly and carefully than before.

We hit the ground, and much to my surprise, the area was completely silent. For the large crowd Skipp had detailed, they were all being very quiet.

One voice, however, began speaking alone.

"Where is Drayden?"

"Does it matter?" Skyla responded with a veil of confidence. "I'm sure you'll be able to see him if you make an appointment."

"Here's a question for you, then? Your nephew, huh? Where's he at?"

A low growl indicated to me Skipp had begun to intervene.

"There are going to be many, many problems for you and your entire gang if you don't get out of the way right now and let us go inside calmly."

People started whispering indecisively. They certainly had the mob mentality, but quite the discipline if they were to respect the delegation of a single speaker.

"I swear to-"

"Flygon, be a doll and move him aside for me, please?"

I heard a number of singular yells ring out amongst the crowd before chaos ensued. Simultaneously, I heard what must've been fifty Pokéballs, all being released simultaneously. Skipp's growling grew more intense, while Seraph began shifting onto her haunches in suspense.

I braced myself for the impending conflict to come less than a moment before it started, all with a now incredibly familiar sound

 _BANG_

I heard a sharp whizz of the air above my head, promptly before Seraph screeched in pain. From there, the situation turned into absolute pandemonium. Two more shots rang out in the air around us within just a few seconds, though if any of them connected I had no idea.

Skipp roared, actually _roared_ as Seraph writhed about. With no way to hang on I couldn't help as I was whipped out of her cloud coverage, landing on the ground roughly a few feet away. I took a few seconds to gain my footing and shake myself out as I looked every which way, eyes wide.

Human feet were pounding past me on all sides, running in every single direction imaginable. I had to intentionally dodge a few as not to be trampled in the stampede.

"Seraph?! Misa?! Skipp?!"

As I tried frantically searching for one of the dragons, a stray leg kicked me in the side on its quick journey away. I whined as I was knocked aside, slow to get back up. I shook the injury off for the time being.

I had to adjust my legs constantly to keep my balance. With my world spinning, I found it quite difficult to adjust, all while trying to focus on finding safety among the chaos. Some human legs, running towards some nondescript point, nearly hit and knocked me down again.

Every part of me wanted to simply lie down and try making myself as small a target as possible, as any other Zorua surely would have done. I forced myself to stay standing, however, as the human population finally began to fizzle out.

Maybe a half dozen Pokémon had piled themselves on Skipp. The Flygon seemed to have little issue, however, in picking them off one by one. In much of the same state as the one I'd previously seen him in on the train, I could feel his anger coming off of him in waves. Skyla was nowhere to be found.

Seraph, meanwhile, seemed cornered. The injured dragon, blood steadily staining her pearlescent wings and dripping onto the ground, was screeching and biting occasionally at a group of Pokémon as they slowly advanced.

I wanted to run, I really did… I had the chance to escape Drayden's clutches! However, I let the still-human side of me overcome instinct with rational thought. Where would I go? What greater dangers awaited me on my own?

It didn't take much time to decide I wanted to stay. Was there anything I could do, though? I was entirely useless in a situation such as this. Would Seraph and Skipp have wanted me to hide until the worst was passed? The Flygon seemed like he was winning his own battles and hardly fading, a constant, glaring scowl never leaving his face. He would help Seraph when he got the chance, surely.

Yet, despite my concern, it seemed I now had my own issues to overcome.

A simple Drilbur had begun giving me its attention despite the chaos surrounding us. I could see a glimmer of confident anger flash across its face before it began advancing.

 _Oh no… Jet never taught me to use moves… I gotta get out of here._

I tried running, only to find yet another basic-stage Pokémon, a Vullaby, was approaching me from the other side, wearing the same, menacing grimace.

I backed away slowly, hoping not to escalate the situation further.

"Hey, hey, chill, guys… We can talk about this, can't we?"

The Drilbur, rather than respond, began preparing an attack. Remembering in the slightest what Jet had taught me one of the days we'd worked on basic maneuvers, I faked left and dodged right, throwing the ground-type off for just a moment. Such a break in its momentum would be pivotal if I could have actually benefited from it.

I gave a quick look behind me to see the Vullaby was rapidly approaching. They seemed to converge as to prevent escape through the only free route. What remained behind me was the wall of Pokémon focused on advancing on Seraph.

Another shot rang out in our surroundings. I could hear as it hit the brick exterior of Drayden's Gym behind where Skipp was currently finishing off the last of his opponents. He hardly seemed exhausted, and despite breathing heavily, he still bore his scowl and turned his attention towards the source.

"SKIPP!" I screamed, watching the Flygon as he began flying, lifting himself a few feet off the ground before taking off towards a hooded man maybe fifty feet away. Before I could see what sort of violence the Flygon reserved for the shooter, I whipped my focus back on the duo in front of me as the Drilbur charged another attack and leapt forwards towards me.

I rolled to the right, left susceptible as the ground type landed and chased me, prepared to stab a claw exactly where I lay on the ground. However, before it could, a simple blur of green leapt over me and began rolling with the assailant on the ground.

Despite lacking size on the aggressor, Misa tried her best to throw herself out of the way of any impending attacks as she slammed her fists on its hide again and again. The Vullaby, shocked by the counterattack, started running forward to assist its teammate.

Before it got to the Axew, however, I made sure to meet it and tackle it off its path. Having no previous experience, let alone an idea on what to do in such a situation, I let instinct overcome any rational thought as I rolled around with the flying type.

I used my claws to try scratching it, even though I knew I wasn't infusing any energy into them. I didn't want myself passing out due to exhaustion anytime soon due to my lack of knowledge regarding the proper way to go about it. I needed as much energy as I could for stamina, in the case I needed to withstand any attacks.

I bit into its wing as it pecked the top of my head, and battered its belly with my claws, but nothing I was doing seemed to have much effect.

Though, the Vullaby wasn't doing that well itself. It seemed, as flustered as it was, it wasn't able to focus on conjuring any moves to more easily dispatch me. As far as its coverage options went, it mainly relied on its beak as a means of attack. It tried getting to its feet way too much, rather than use the sharp talons as a means of offense.

I saw an opening on its leg and I took advantage of it, sinking my tiny teeth into the pink skin there. It tasted horrible.

It squawked in apparent pain, meaning I was doing something right. I shook my head as hard as possible, not letting go in the slightest.

However, I made a mistake in giving it the time to set up an actual move. I was quick to realize what it had been doing when I felt a blunt, energetic force smack into the exact spot I'd been kicked not two minutes before. Whimpering, I couldn't help but let go, feeling a considerable drop in my energy. I began to back away slowly, given the space to do so in the attack.

The Vullaby wasn't quick to retaliate, considering I'd apparently done some real damage to its leg. With a limp, it advanced on me slowly. I could easily escape it at this point and find Skipp, but Misa-

I hardly had to worry about Misa. With a scream, the Axew came into view and leaped onto the Vullaby as it slowly advanced. She'd already allotted some energy to fill her claws, and with a few, well-placed and quick Scratches to the chest, her opponent was rendered unconscious.

She was out of breath, surely. A quick look at the Drilbur revealed she'd succeeded against that opponent as well.

"T-Thanks…"

I found myself shocked to utter the words, but I did nonetheless. Misa gave me an exhausted glance, letting her mouth hang open as she began laughing cheekily.

Whoever was more exhausted, we had a hard time figuring, but we were quick to find Skipp had begun weeding out the crowd of Pokémon surrounding the injured Seraph. The Axew and I, wishing to stay in the way of the situation no longer, supported each other in the slow journey towards the front door of the Gym.

* * *

I found myself staring at Skipp, again. The Flygon didn't seem to be doing well.

He hardly bore any scratches, and rather than receive medical attention, he opted out. His mental state, however, couldn't be attributed as being as sound as his physical state.

He'd been pacing the same few steps for an hour now; his agitation had hardly declined whatsoever.

Drayden had arrived fifteen minutes before, having heard the news on the way over. Despite moving as fast as he could without Skipp or Seraph, he'd arrived after all was said and done.

From what I heard the humans saying as they bustled around me in the lobby of the Gym, converted now into a makeshift recovery room for the terrorist attack that'd just occurred, one or two people were confirmed dead in the wake of the conflict.

One death was sure, however, but no identity could be discerned regarding the deceased. Skipp had apparently made sure to mutilate him beyond all recognition, considering he was the one to fire the shots to begin with.

Any and all Pokémon released during the scuffle were now in the process of recovery, considering not a single one was left conscious. They were almost entirely low-level fighters owned by novice trainers, and hardly stood a chance against Skipp while he was raging on. I saw something in him snap as Seraph was shot, releasing the same beast I'd seen on the train.

I began growing more and more uncomfortable with the glares from the humans and Pokémon passing mine and Misa's bench every so often. Word spread quickly regarding the attempt from Drayden to hide Misa and I. I'd gotten multiple, scrutinizing stares from passersby, usually people in the mob that were receiving medical attention in the wake of the stampede. Drayden was livid with the fact that league officials had arrived and disallowed him from letting us retreat from the public eye. We were forced to sit, under Skipp's protection, until their investigation was over.

I'd hardly so much as moved two feet away from Misa while in the lobby. While I hated the Axew with all conceivable certainty, it wasn't a lie to say I was terrified of not being near her at the moment. I recognized nobody, Seraph was more than likely in surgery for the bullet wound she'd sustained, Crag, Drayden, and Vulcan were nowhere around, and Skipp was hardly the Skipp I'd come to know over the previous week.

It took me a while to realize Misa had actually fallen asleep despite the situation. She never was one to worry about important matters such as these for long, but I definitely had her to thank for fighting for me. She seemed to be helpful when it really made a difference, and to say I didn't think of her any differently, if only slightly, after that day would be a lie.

"Hey, Drayden told me to come get you two and bring you back."

I snapped out of thought as I perceived a figure had appeared before us in my time of pensive thought. Drayden's Druddigon, putting up a display of cool indifference, stood before us. He scratched his chin while he waited for us to absorb the command.

Quietly, I stood and shook the Axew sleeping next to me awake in the process. She woke with a start, but was quick to calm herself and follow my lead off the bench.

I gave one, final look towards Skipp as we began walking away. Even though he was our designated 'protector', his duty proved to be of lesser priority than hoping to mitigate the consequences of his boiling anger.

"Is Seraph all right?" I asked as we began to walk towards the front desk.

"More or less," he replied gruffly.

"But is she gonna b-"

"Just quit with the questions and come on."

Maybe two hours had passed since the arrival, and I could feel almost the entirety of my front left shoulder becoming more and more painful as time progressed. Now I was walking on the bruised limb, however, I couldn't say the journey to the back of the Gym was the most comfortable in the world.

"Skipp isn't coming?"

The Druddigon sent Misa a sideways glance.

"Drayden thought it'd be better if he got to cool down for a bit. Don't worry about it."

I gave one last glance at the Flygon. He was looking back at us, the intensity of his emotions slowly fading from his face.

We continued onwards.

Crag opened a door next to the vacant front counter; I was glad to finally be rid of the piercing stares of the humans.

Rooms in the hallway we traversed were at maximum capacity with injured Pokémon. Hardly any of them were too, incredibly grisly, as more or less all it had taken was a single attack from Skipp to knock most of them out.

"Is everyone okay?" I solemnly asked Crag as we passed. They were the aggressors, certainly, but a part of me wanted to believe not all of the injured creatures were fighting of their own volition.

"Eh, yeah if you don't count the shooter. One guy got stampeded pretty bad, but I heard he was fine."

"And Pokémon?"

"None. Skipp doesn't usually go that far… I wouldn't wanna be that shooter, though. Damn, that was a real mess. He's gonna get a ton of shit for it, too. It's too bad you're not allowed to be a badass in this world."

 _Jeez…_

Eventually we arrived in a more segregated area of the medical center and took a right down a deserted hallway. At the end was a glass door leading to the outdoors, which Crag pushed open for us.

Rather than ask why we were entering the outdoors to the easily agitated and hardly conversational dragon, I took a look around.

It was an enclosed courtyard, complete with a table and a few benches sporadically placed throughout. A small brook in the corner between two walls ran down decorative stone to feed a small pond, filled with a few species of fish Pokémon.

Crag didn't give the area any mind, proceeding through in the cold stone path to the opposite end, and furthermore, another door. This one was made once again of glass, through through it I could see what I took to be kitchen appliances.

The Druddigon opened and closed it after we arrived. Drayden stepped into the room, having all the makings of a contemporary kitchen.

"Seraph is resting now, and I would like to see her given the recovery time she deserves without interruption."

The Gym Leader tried placing as little emotion in his voice as possible, but he couldn't hide the smallest traces of concern for his dragon.

"Despite my best intentions, the public knows you two exist now. Forgive me if the next few days are spontaneous as a result. I'm going to have to give an explanation."

I said nothing, letting my gaze wander guiltily. The entirety of this situation stemmed from me, and me only.

"Until then, it's getting rather late. Skipp will be unable to stay with you both tonight, and Seraph should be left alone, so I will show you your rooms and arrange to give you both a proper tour of the complex in the morning. Welcome to Opelucid."

* * *

…

Silence…

Only the recurring dream occurred that night. Mew was nowhere to be found.

* * *

"Well, you slept in, didn'tcha?"

"How'd you tell?" I asked Misa through still-closed eyes. I was sure I hadn't opened them yet.

"You just told me."

I slowly opened my eyes, faced near-instantaneously with a sight of the Axew, laying on her back. The fin-like protrusion atop her head pointed at me like a compass, while her eyes gazed emptily towards the ceiling. Her face, from the limited view I had, was contemplative.

Daylight peeked through the drawn curtains in the corner of the room. It was a troubling night, certainly. I was glad to be rid of it.

 _Might as well try being diplomatic. Mew may have talked to her if she didn't talk to me last night, and she actually looks like she thinking with her brain instead of her mouth._

"What time is it?" I asked, rubbing my face with a paw.

"Dunno," she replied, unmoving. "Midday maybe?"

I turned my head to the right, eyeing a digital clock in the dimly-lit room. It read 11:37.

"I'm guessing someone made you stay here with me?"

"I would be mad at you for making me bored if they did," she said, tilting her head back to give me a firm glance out of the top of her eyes. "Nah," she continued, shifting her stare back up at the ceiling, "I waited because you're telling me what's up with all this 'Ray' crap."

"What?" I asked uselessly, heart rate rising ever so slightly.

"You heard me fine," she grunted, sitting up. "I was okay with letting you have your little secret, but not if it's as important as it sounds. Because that's what all those humans wanted, wasn't it?"

She stood on the bed, turning and stalking towards me ominously. I could obviously see through her calm, cool nature as nothing more than a schtick. As I stood myself, ignoring a stab of pain from my leg, I narrowed my eyes.

"Tired of all this 'I'm better than you so I don't have to share my secret' crap. I promised you we would talk, and that's sure as hell what we're gonna do. So _spill_."

"No."

"No? I know you got hit pretty hard yesterday, but I don't think you heard—"

"You know what, Misa? I'm tired of this stupid game you're playing."

"It's not a game."

"Oh, sure. You know, by now, I'd think Mew's talked to you already. Do you have any idea what she'll do to y—"

"IT'S NOT A GAME!"

My glare diminished in the wake of the Axew's booming voice.

"You don't have _any_ clue what this is!" she continued yelling, waving her arms erratically. "And you never will! You know what you are?! A runt! Runts don't _deserve_ to talk back to me! But here you are, acting all high and mighty! You know what?! _You_ are nowhere near _my_ level!"

"What the hell do you know?!" I replied, just as harshly, finding leverage over my shock while she was ranting. "You know absolutely _nothing_ about me!"

"I know you're a goddamn twerp who thinks he's a lot more than he's worth! You wouldn't be _alive_ if it weren't for me. Three times I've saved your worthless ass. _Three!_ But you're too high and mighty to even say it happened! Runts aren't worth _anything_ unless they prove they are! What have _you_ done?"

Positively fuming, she started pacing around the bed to calm down. She was finally out of my face, thankfully.

"I ain't gonna force you to tell me," she said. "But I ain't saving your ass anymore, either… You say I'm the mean and nasty one, but after all I've done, you still don't do so much as tell me a stupid secret!"

She seemed on the verge of tears, but continued on.

"Watch your ass. In any case, slave, today's gonna be a busy day."

I groaned as the small dragon sat and slid off the side of the bed. Reluctantly, I followed, stumbling from side to side in an attempt to keep weight off either one of my two injured legs.

"I _really_ don't feel good, Misa," I announced as the Axew drew open the already-cracked door.

Exaggeratedly indifferent to spite me, she returned with, "You can go back to bed if you tell me your secret."

"You're seriously going to be like that?"

"No? Out we go, the-"

"I suppose I did hear yelling, then."

Vulcan was standing in the doorway. Somehow, I hadn't heard a three-hundred pound dragon make his way to be standing directly in front of us.

"I do believe I remember Seraph telling me about your conviction to stay moving, rather than simply letting yourself recover," he stated afterwards, directing a condescending stare towards me. "She told me, 'He could take a hit straight from Groudon and think he's fine enough to get up right after.'"

"Sorry," I said, bowing my head ever so lightly. While Seraph seemed to be a candidate to bring up any complaints with, Vulcan certainly wasn't. "Is Seraph doing alright?"

"She's recovering. The shooter was using fairydust-laced bullets, so he knew exactly who his targets were. Because of the shot's makeup, her recovery will be heavily impeded, and permanent damage may have been inflicted."

My mouth went dry before I arduously tried to swallow. I nodded my head, averting my gaze somewhat. I found the part of a timid Zorua was growing much easier to play as time passed.

"Now, Drayden instructed I show you both around the complex, as Skipp isn't well at the moment.

I gave a small look down towards my bruised leg. I wouldn't be walking long before the dull pain emanating from it became near-unbearable.

Seeing this, Vulcan crouched where he was and beckoned me forwards. Gulping, I limped forwards to his gargantuan figure. With a single claw, he proceeded to grab me and situate me against his torso in such a way where I was as comfortable as possible.

The next few minutes went by like a blur; I was entangled in my thoughts the entire time. While Vulcan gave Misa and I a tour of Drayden's residence, pointing out certain areas like the living and dining rooms, I found my thoughts drifting aimlessly to the organization responsible for my assaults.

To be perfectly honest, I hadn't given them any mind in days, but Vulcan had identified the shooter in the incident yesterday as having special bullets made for dragons specifically. I couldn't shake the feeling they were somehow involved. I hadn't seen hide-nor-hair of them after what had transpired on Mt Chimney. For a while, I'd thought they'd simply given up after learning Mew was involved.

Yet, in the jumble that were the previous few days, I seemed to have forgotten an important detail.

Mew was vulnerable…

Certainly, now that I was, ironically, stranded in the depths of civilization, it was smart to assume they would try again by targeting Skyla and Drayden, the duo notorious for being on my side throughout this entire exchange, despite the latter's lack of testimony on the matter.

Skyla! Where was she?! I hadn't seen her since the seconds before the mob attacked, having had disappeared by the time I'd been left to fend for myself. Curiously concerned, I proposed the question to Vulcan.

"One of the first actions Skipp took as the fighting broke out was to create a path in which Skyla could make it safely inside the Gym. She apparently ran straight back to where we are now, and hasn't left her room or accepted any visitors since."

Part of me had a hard time remembering Skyla was only twelve years older than I, a much younger sister of my own mother. She had only just become a Gym Leader when I started my journey at the incredibly young age of 22.

"Nox, are you paying attention?"

"Hmm? Oh, uhh… I've just been out of it, sorry."

Vulcan's head lowered ever so slightly in exasperation.

"If there's one thing to remember," he reiterated, gesturing with a claw to one side of the hallway we now stood in, "don't enter Drayden's study. Despite being in possession of sensitive information, it's as cluttered as you can imagine, and there is a fine system in the madness. My point is that he'll be irate if anything in the room is moved. Please just avoid it altogether."

"You don't have to tell me twice," I replied, shooting a glare towards the Axew alongside us.

* * *

While the thought of Drayden's study certainly intrigued me, the courtyard we'd traversed yesterday grabbed my attention twofold.

"The architecture of this building is quite impressive," Vulcan said, wandering aimlessly about the grounds. "Part of the complex was built atop a sprawling cave system, underground lakes and rivers included. This spring serves as one of the outlets, and the fish Pokémon living there are free to come and go as they please."

"What _are_ they?" Misa's voice replied.

"Mostly Magikarp and Goldeen. We'll get the occasional Basculin and Feebas, and even a few Milotic from time to time. Most other species are too large or don't like surfacing here."

We moved on to the other side of the courtyard. Off the path, a simple green field sprawled over half of a wall's length, large considering the size of the plaza.

"It's rarely used when compared to the ones in the Gym, but this is a training field. Feel free to use it to play whenever you two so desire."

I glanced at the clean-cut grass. Lacking markings of a normal battlefield, it stood at about half the size.

"What's the deal with this whole 'Gym' thing? I've heard it thrown out a bunch…" Misa replied.

"Yes, yes, I've been meaning to explain it to you both. A Gym, basically, is a complex where a designated leader accepts challenging Pokémon trainers and battles with them. Drayden rarely gets challenges he accepts as a Gym Leader, maybe only one or two every month or so. Being the final Gym, his challengers are more often the best of the best. He has the right to accept any challenge he receives from any trainer, but is only obligated to fight trainers with experience to their name."

"Do I get to fight?"

I groaned at the stupidity of the question. Vulcan didn't seem surprised whatsoever with the question.

"That's what I was going to get to… Firstly, no. Of course you're not going to fight in a Gym battle, especially not in _this_ Gym. Misa, you have to understand some of the strongest Pokémon in the region pass through this building, a portion of which even I can't handle. The group of Pokémon Nox was with is a perfect example. We were ultimately defeated."

That was hardly the truth… Drayden even said during our Gym Battle that he wasn't fighting to his full capacity. I'd won, simply because his dragons were going easy on me. As the Axew was inhaling to give a retort, the Haxorus continued.

"Despite all that, it's important for young Pokémon to learn to fight. Once everything settles down, I suppose…"

"What?"

The Haxorus sighed. "The Gym, of course, is used for Drayden to fight challengers hoping to advance in the league, but it _is_ called a 'Gym' for a reason. With so little challengers, Drayden often finds himself running the Training and Exercise Center stationed here, commonly referred to as TEC. Many trainers and their Pokémon come through and train, as is with all Gyms."

"So… What does that mean?"

"It means you'll get to learn to fight after all the chaos surrounding our arrival settles down."

Despite what I took to be excitement flashing across her face, she shrugged with a 'hmph'.

"Nox," the Haxorus continued, "we don't have much experience with dark types, but Drayden has expressed his desire to instruct _both_ of you in combat, especially after yesterday. If you desire, and _after you heal_ , you may start to learn. I'm sure we'll work something out, even if the instruction won't be nearly as helpful as Misa's."

I thought about her offer, remaining quiet.

 _Fighting? I mean, I know I'm gonna stay in this body a while, and the thought is really cool, to be honest, but should I? I asked Jet to teach me, but that was to help protect myself while we were on Twist. I didn't learn anything, anyways, other than dodging. Do I need to learn to protect myself anymore, though?_

I thought on the question, coming up with an answer rather quickly.

 _Yes, yes I do. There's no telling when that group'll come back, and if the incident yesterday proves anything, it's that I have no chance of surviving if I get out into a situation like that again…_

"Yeah, okay," I answered, exhaling jaggedly.

"Alright then," he concluded, giving me a nod. "Let's take a look around the Gym itself."

With that, we proceeded as a group back towards the path, taking a left to walk away from the door we'd exited.

"That door," Vulcan said," referencing the one we'd exited, "Is the main door into Drayden's house. The only other door leading into this garden is one connecting to the back of the Gym.

We walked through the glass door, now finding ourselves at the end of the hallway we'd seen ourselves walking in yesterday. Soon, we exited the door behind the counter and found ourselves in the lobby, now clear of any people and viewable to the naked eye.

To the left were the main double-doors into the compound, Rayquaza-reminiscent decor winding around the bronze handles. The lobby itself seemed to be nearly entirely black and white marble, dark floors with white walls. Both planes were lined with gold in snaking patterns, as well as columns to give it contrast and depth.

The entire room was completely empty, odd when taking into account the vast number of mingling trainers and league officials crowding the large room the last time I'd been there.

"The decoration is mostly just for show," Vulcan explained, stepping in. "It's not exactly the most aesthetically sound, but I've learned to get used to it over the years."

I gave a small glance outside the main entrance as we moved towards the center of the room, dismayed when I saw a small crowd packed behind some waist-high partitions. Some held signs, the content of which I didn't catch.

"Ignore them," Vulcan said sternly. "They'll go away soon."

As if to redirect our attention, he continued on, walking away from the front door and towards a set of opaque double-doors.

"This is the TEC," he announced, pushing the doors inward and revealing what could only be described as a behemoth of a room. I hadn't actually seen the training center when I'd challenged Drayden, having only stood in the lobby and official battleground. Yet, while different in style, this area certainly reminded me of the training center in Skyla's Gym.

Exercise equipment of all makes seemingly cluttered the TEC's floor. Machines of a certain kind seemed to be reserved to a certain area, however; split mainly across the middle into anaerobic and aerobic sections.

On the left, treadmills and ellipticals, as well as other, less common aerobic machines lined the wall and fanned out in a grid. On the right, though, placed in a seemingly sporadic fashion, sat apparatuses designed to work every single muscle imaginable. While benches lined the walls, spaced evenly, the rest of the area was cluttered with specifically-designed instruments to suit every body type.

"Most specialized training is done on the upper floors, as is all the classes Drayden holds for trainers. You two won't be participating in those for obvious reasons, but it's worth it to check out each upstairs room when you're able. Target practice, sparring rings, you name it and we most likely have it up there."

"I wanna go see!" Misa spouted, having gotten over the initial shock of seeing such a large room filled with such useful equipment to suit her battle craze.

"I'll leave you to explore on your own in a little bit. As for now, let me show you the rest of the complex first," Vulcan dodged, guiding the hopeful Axew back out the doors with his foot.

Personally, I felt quite intimidated by the machines in the room. I'd never found enough use to frequent a TEC, but I still had a decent understanding of what it held. Despite the prowess of my team in recent years, I still worried often about the intimidation from other trainers. As a Zorua, I could hardly see any machines suitable for my… size, or lack thereof.

As we passed the corner and into a second hallway branching from the lobby, I could easily figure out the next destination.

Instead of continuing straight up a flight of stairs into the main battle area, where I'd assumed was the destination, however, we took a right down another, branching hallway.

Almost immediately, a set of double doors to the right, labeled 'Spectators' appeared. Through the glass I could see seats arranged in stair-like patterns. Vulcan, ignoring it, continued forward.

Eventually, however, another door on the right appeared at the end of the hall. What was inside made my mouth drop. While the TEC hadn't quite surprised me, considering my experience while living in Skyla's Gym, her complex surely wasn't large enough to hold a tournament grounds.

Six battlefields arranged into two rows sprawled out before us. Looking straight upward, an unlit scoreboard hung from the ceiling, stationary among the many lights, only about half lit.

Surrounding the arena on the right were multiple sets of empty stands. A look to the right revealed the double-doors I'd seen earlier. The wall to the left was detailed by one, long window, peering into multiple rooms adjacent to one another. I guessed these to be for the purpose of staff when tournaments, or simple battles, were being held.

"Regular tournaments are held here, each at the end of a season," Vulcan explained as I was looking around. "With all the students Drayden gets, accompanied by random entries, there are usually about 750 people competing in each one."

"So, humans just fight each other using Pokémon?" Misa asked, finally putting together the pieces despite the previously available, obvious clues. "That sounds pretty dumb."

Vulcan chuckled. "On the contrary, Misa. I've been training alongside Drayden all my life. Of course, while there are some humans who handle their Pokémon irresponsibly, it's part of Drayden's job to never let them get far in the league."

"I never thought this building was this big," I whispered to myself.

"What was that, Nox?"

"Oh, nothing… Just, umm… Wondering about the tournaments?" I lied.

"Yeah!" Misa shouted, "When do I get to fight?!"

Vulcan shot an annoyed glare at the Axew. "Tournaments are held at the end of each season, meaning the last one was only three weeks ago. Being the beginning of October, we'd still have to wait nearly another three months until the next one. I'm sure we'll have this whole mess sorted out by then."

I faintly remembered hearing something about the tournament the week I stayed in Opelucid before challenging Drayden. Sign-ups had already come and gone, so I wasn't able to participate. I didn't bother staying around to watch. Most of the people, with the exception of few, were amateur trainers. I simply wanted to get the badge and leave. Plus, the events surrounding Somin's injury had provided for not much time spent in the Gym after my half-victory.

"Where are all the people?" I asked in curiosity, reminiscing on the empty lobby and TEC. "You said lots of people usually train here."

"Drayden's kept the facility on lockdown for the time being. Skyla's presence with Drayden was observed, and since the general public already knows she's related to Ray, they believe Drayden is a cohort. It's convoluted, and people are paranoid about anything regarding him."

"Ray did nothing wrong," I cursed under my breath.

Vulcan seemed surprised, an emotion I didn't think I'd ever see on the Haxorus' face. "Drayden understands that much, and believes it's about time to sort it out. We have to find him before the rest of the world does, though, and we're pooling as much resources as we can to achieve that end."

As I concluded staring around the room, Vulcan began stepping out. I could catch a glance, as she turned, of Misa's malevolent glare in my direction.

I'd forgotten she was present to hear the conversation about myself as a human. I knew referencing 'Ray' had only piqued her curiosity further. I could feel the same glare boring into the back of my head as we regressed back down the hallway.

"We still have one more place to see," Vulcan announced. "There's the main battlefield, where actual Gym battles take place, and my personal favorite area in the facility."

Without words, he stepped up the flight of stairs we'd originally skipped, Misa following closely behind. He opened the set of black double doors without issue. From there, he stepped up to another set of doors straight ahead, ignoring the hallways on the left and right.

Before he opened it, however, I swore I heard something akin to yelling. While not exactly panicked, the voices on the other sides were seemingly in combat. I could recognize the telltale grunts and shuffle of battle, even from this distance.

"I thought you said no one was here?" I asked as Vulcan opened the doors. He obviously hadn't heard the noises, at least not as well.

As he turned to give me a confused response, however, he jumped back a few feet as a body landed maybe a foot away from him. Coming to a halt, he whipped his head around to get a better grasp on the situation.

"You're gonna have to try harder than that, Skipper!"

The voice came from the battlefield itself, suspended a few feet in the air at the end of a brief staircase. The shout itself was nearly unrecognizable, hidden under laborious breathing.

Before I could open my mouth, the body that'd landed near us got up, shaking itself off.

"I told you not to call me 'Skipper'," a Flygon yelled back, snarling ever so slightly and now fully standing. It was then he seemed to notice the new visitors to the room.

"Oh… Hi guys," the Flygon greeted, surprised by our presence. It'd seem he'd calmed down from his state yesterday as an oddly timid demeanor went back into effect. "I, uh… When'd you get here?"

"Just in time to almost be flattened," Vulcan responded in a monotone, annoyed.

"Uh… Sorry? We were, umm… Sparring?"

I heard footsteps walking towards us. Skipp adopted yet another nervous glance as Drayden appeared on the edge. The Gym Leader got one look at both Misa and myself and instantly slipped back into a withdrawn demeanor, contrasting the excited personality and obvious adrenaline he'd reflected just moments before.

"Vulcan," he greeted, bobbing his head. "I wasn't expecting the hatchlings to be up so soon."

"It's noon."

Had Drayden been the one to launch Skipp nearly into us? I heard no other creatures on the room, but I couldn't fathom how such an act was possible. A simple human, and somewhat elderly at that, tossing a fully-grown dragon what had to have been at least ten yards.

I tried visualizing the situation in my head… Drayden… Lifting Skipp, a Flygon, above his head and vaulting him as if it were nothing… Impossible.

"Wait," Misa vocalized my concerns, addressing Skipp. " _You_ two are sparring?"

"Uhh, yeah, Misa… It's just physical, so we-… I don't use any moves. Drayden's stronger than he looks, though."

"We were just passing through," Vulcan explained before the Axew could continue. "We'll leave if you two are busy."

"Oh, I was just about to get some food anyways…"

My attention was now focused solely on Drayden, and, following a few seconds of confusion, he noticed I was watching, proceeding to stare me dead in the eye.

I shivered uncomfortably, whipping my gaze away to the only other being in the room. Misa, like me, glued her gaze to the Gym Leader, scrutinizing him carefully.

Despite my hatred towards the Axew, I knew I was required to accept the fact she was, most likely, the only accessible being in the entire facility that was on my 'team', so to speak. I knew she would want to come to talk about the conversation Vulcan and I had about 'Ray', but I was much more interested in the discrepancies of the world surrounding us.

I thought for a moment on whether or not I would tell her what I truly was outright, in privacy, of course. I shrugged the notion away. She wasn't necessary for the plan my team and I were soon to craft in order to escape.

Before I knew it, our posse, now including Skipp and the uncomfortable addition of Drayden, traveled back through the lobby, out the door into the courtyard, and back to Drayden's residence, acting as if nothing was amiss.

Afterwards, Drayden and Vulcan, after handing me over to Skipp, went their own separate way. They walked away and down a hallway out of view, one I recognized to be leading to Drayden's study. It was just about the only part of the tour of the area I paid attention in.

"Let's get some lunch, huh?" Skipp proposed, gaining assent from Misa. I took the suggestion, however as a method of detracting from the attention that accompanied the silence after Drayden's departure.

* * *

 **This chapter gave me a bit of trouble.**

 **I'd had the design of the Gym Complex planned for quite a while, though applying that into words proved much more difficult than I'd imagined. In total, this chapter took three weeks to write, going over my usual schedule of one chapter every two weeks.**

 **I'm having a few regrets regarding the abundance of mystery in the story. Hopefully, some will start being resolved soon, meaning I won't have to refresh the mind of the reader every so often, all while trying to introduce dialogue which allows for the even flow of such references.**

 **As of right now (and this list is more for me than the reader), the current ongoing mysteries include:**

 **\- The UPF (as referenced by the Lavaridge Police), the organization chasing Ray.**

 **\- Misa's arrival on Twist, as well as Jet's sporadic disappearances during the duration of the stay on the mountain (not to mention his total absence from the current plot).**

 **\- The mysterious force blocking Mew's influence of Ray with her power, as well as Ray's dreams of the trainer and the Zorua.**

 **\- Vicus (whether it be his affiliation with Drayden, the fact his life's signature is immense, or his plans for Mew, Misa, and Ray).**

 **\- Drayden's incredible physical feats/personal oddities, whether it be sparring with Skipp, loyalty to Vicus, or lukewarm personality regarding Ray.**

 **\- Ray's parents, and his relationship with them.**

 **\- Arceus', included among other legendaries' disappearances from the world/Mew's reasoning for being trained.**

 **All of these conundrums can be grouped into a few categories, thankfully, and all but one will be sorted out by the time Act II draws to a close.**

 **If any of these points are confusing to any reader, all I can request is that you PLEASE tell me. I have trouble knowing what needs clarification and when. In addition, if you'd like any questions answered regarding any of these, I can surely oblige, though not to the point of ruining the story. I may provide hints, as I have in AN's prior, but that's just about the limit.**

 **I still have a link to the Discord server I'm a part of for all things Pokemon FFN! If you want to join, the invite code is: trZCsj5**

 **As always, thanks for reading! Cheers!**


	17. Irregular

**l**

 **Chapter XVI - Irregular**

* * *

I huffed, staring out into the night sky through a tinted window. The view from the hill Drayden's Gym rested on was astounding, to say the least. Despite the lack of stars, we sat high above the majority of Opelucid, allowing me to peer out over both the stationary lights of the city and the snaking white and red of a highway.

My mind, once again, went over the conversation I'd started with Skipp after Misa had gone off to explore.

I'd asked him about the 'sparring' match between him and Drayden. When asked about it, the Flygon seemed oddly reserved.

"Drayden and I've been together a while," he explained, "just like the rest of the team. We train together sometimes to pass the time."

"Yeah, but a human shouldn't be able to be that strong," I argued, and, as an afterthought and an attempt at concealing my knowledge, I added a, "right?"

"Well, probably no…"

"Then why's Drayden like that? What makes him so special?"

"He's, uhh… Spent most of his life around dragons, and only dragons, Nox. He, uh… got stronger, I guess? It's kinda just normal for us, nothing really off about it. He's just one of us, you know?"

He opted to leave it at that, using the response of, "nothing's wrong," whenever I tried questioning him further.

 _Just another thing to add onto the pile of stuff I've gotta explain and try to make sense of._

"Arceus," I whispered, lowering my head onto my pillow. "I have no idea what I'm doing…"

How did I get to where I was? Two weeks ago, I was simply on vacation, celebrating the fact I'd finally achieved my reward for years of work.

Never had I imagined I would be the subject of a legendary's affection. For those few, fleeting moments after the shock had subsided when meeting Mew, I simply thought it signified a new, happy chapter in my life.

Here I was now, though. Uncomfortable and alone, slowly adjusting to a body I wanted absolutely nothing to do with. The promise of increased interaction with my team lightened my spirits somewhat, but I would've given anything, at that moment, to just go back to the daily leisure of training and traveling.

Why was it that I was now stuck, alone, trying to assess the oddities of the world around me? Some mysterious figure I'd never heard of, a stupid and rather adamant criminal organization, and on top of that, the incredible physical feats of a Gym Leader.

In retrospect, that last point hardly seemed worth the attention I was giving it. Knowing Drayden, he probably felt physically inferior to his dragons, and had worked for years to raise himself to their level… Hell, I sparred my own Pokémon from time to time, though I certainly wasn't strong enough to launch them as I'd seen earlier.

With my train of thought moving along steadily, I found myself eyeing the long television on the far side of the room.

 _No, even if I want to know what's going on, there's no point to it… If anything, I'll just get myself pissed off again and found out…_

I shifted my gaze towards the closed door. Yellow light seeped in the gap underneath. Having been nearly three hours since we'd been sent to bed, I was quite surprised to hear Misa softly snoring from the other bed in the room. I could've sworn she would try to pry me open for information, considering we'd been given a room to share, alone.

Skyla, whom I had not seen since the train, apparently took up one of the guest bedrooms, and hadn't come out since.

 _I'm getting off track. There's so much going on… I just need to evaluate what I know and go from there. Theorize if possible._

Something was wrong, that much I knew. Everything had been so skewed and backwards since we'd been taken from Twist.

Drayden's behavior in particular had been the most odd. While I hadn't had much time to give an initial evaluation of his character, I still had enough information to know something was off.

From what information I'd gathered, I could conclude he was under the control of third-party interests, in the form of this mysterious man 'Vicus'. The Gym Leader wasn't exactly one to accept bribes, though, was he? Drayden hadn't been the mayor of Opelucid for years. Was this a political friend of his?

Of course, there was still the possibility I'd misheard what I'd eavesdropped on the train. Despite my best attempts to get the conversation out of my head, I couldn't get one thing out of my mind.

 _This Vicus guy… He wants Misa and I for something, and I don't think it's gonna be good._

I groaned with the thought.

 _Damn it! None of this makes any sense! On top of all of that, there's still the guys who tried killing me that I have to worry about! If they were the ones responsible for the attack yesterday, they're going to try again! What do I do?!_

I took a deep breath, trying to stop myself from fuming further. I directed a glance towards Misa, quietly making sure she hadn't woken from my silent agitation.

 _I never thought I'd say she's been the least stressful part of all this… I'm gonna snap eventually if I keep having to play this goddamn part._

 _Maybe Mew can help?_

 _Doubt it… She's in the Master Ball, and she already made it pretty clear something malicious in my body is blocking her out… She can't do anything._

I shifted my body, laying my head down. I made my decision, now able to fall asleep without any extra turmoil.

* * *

"Hey."

"Hi."

After giving Mew a curt smile, I took a glance around the surrounding area. Contrary to the void I expected myself to wake in, grey, stony walls surrounded me on two sides. It was seemingly a tunnel of sorts, the area beyond my immediate radius growing dark.

"This a dream?" I asked, looking over my human hands, back where they belonged instead of paws. The answer was evident by the form I took.

"Uhh… Kinda."

The legendary looked somewhat serious, and even worried to a degree. Excepting the anxiety her eyes held, however, she looked absolutely normal.

"Kinda?" I asked, narrowing my eyes in confusion. "Something up, Mew? What happened last night, and we didn't talk."

"Well, uh… We gotta talk to you, Ray."

"Yeah, I gotta lot to talk about t-... We? Who else is here?"

"Yours truly."

I spun my head around, eyes locked on the source of the familiar voice. Out of the shadows down one end of the tunnel, a Zoroark stepped forth. He cast an indifferent glance upon the both of us.

"Mew! What the hell?!" I protested instantly thereafter, turning away from Somin and sending an angry gaze towards Mew.

She wore an apologetic glance. "Ray, we-"

"We made a deal," Somin interjected. I redirected my hateful stare to shoot towards him. "I still don't like her, but we were able to reach common ground."

"I'm not talking to you," I said curtly, "You think I care you found something to agree on? I'm pissed at you, Somin. It's going to take a lot more than being civil for the first time towards her to make me forgive you for _lying_ like that to my face!"

"You don't gotta forgive me," he shrugged me off. "You don't even have to talk to me, so listen up, and take a good, hard look at your surroundings."

"What about them? It's a cave, so what?"

"This is where we all are right now. The team. All here in this cave. This is so I can show you, in case you pick up anything from wherever you are."

My glare remained firm on the Zoroark's snout. He huffed, as if sarcastically chuckling.

"What, you gonna look at me like that the whole time? Expecting some sort of reaction to you being human right now? I'm a Zoroark, Ray. Illusions are my thing, and dreams are just one, giant Illusion. I know more about this whole 'in your mind thing' than almost anyone."

As if silently asking to just leave, I sent an irked glance towards Mew.

"She's staying out of this unless I ask her to. Part of our little agreement."

"Please," I replied sarcastically, "enlighten me on this 'agreement' of yours."

"Gladly."

He raised a claw, waving it fluidly past his face and neck in a single motion. A purple glow formed, soon to subside and give way to a dull, grey metal in its place. It wrapped around Somin's neck in a collar-like object.

"Know what this is?"

I shook my head, sighing angrily.

"It's an insulator. I'm the only one on the team wearing one. Basically takes out any chance of using illusions. It detects a single one being formed, I get knocked unconscious. Simple as that."

"Alright, so you can't use Illusions. So what? Isn't the rest of the team able to get out? You and Victor know Dig."

"Tried it. This whole cave system is weird, almost fake. The ground, walls, and ceiling are all way too hard to break through, somehow."

"The door?"

"Move-proofed," he replied, turning and raising the same arm as before. His claws took on a purple glow as the scenery shifted around us. Within a second, we seemed to be standing within a large cavern, stretching high into the ceiling.

"This is where we're staying, eating, and sleeping for the time being. The rest of the tunnels," he said, waving towards multiple dark entries in the far walls, "only go around in circles."

"They're closer to me than you are," Mew announced, adding into the information pile. "I can't tell which direction is which, but they're closer to wherever I am, for sure."

"Drayden's Haxorus said something earlier about his Gym being built above an underground cave system," I explained, setting aside my grudge for a moment to exchange valuable information. "Now I at least know where you all are, even if I can't get down there. If you're all closer to Mew, though, it means Vicus is down there too, right?" I asked. I noticed the door Somin had referenced earlier, and walked briskly past him to examine it. Solid steel, by the looks of it. "There's something really off about him, but we already knew that. Drayden's acting weird about it, too. He still close to you, Mew?"

"Always."

"The hell's Vicus?"

I turned towards Somin, sending a harsh glare at his interruption.

"Some weirdo," Mew explained before I could snap at him. "Power level's pretty insane, and apparently Ray heard a conversation about him on the train ride here. Drayden's boss, by the looks of it."

"Is he human?"

I gave the Zoroark a stupid look. "Of course he's human! Why else would Drayden answer to him! I think I would've noticed if Drayden said he wasn't human."

"Just saying… From what Mew's saying about his energy, he sounds inhuman."

"No Pokémon I know has that unique of a core," Mew piped in. "He's human."

"Okay, okay," Somin relented. "So, Drayden's taking orders from a dude with an unnatural amount of energy?"

"That's as far as I know right now… I'm still trying to find out more."

"Eh, do whatever you want. At this point, it's not like any of it matters anymore."

"Piss off, Somin. I'm trying harder than all of you combined to get us out of the mess _you_ put us in! Do you have any idea how hard it is to act like what I look? Every second of the-"

"Don't start, Ray," Mew interjected, flying lackadaisically between us. "Better learn to get along, cause you still haven't heard the second part of our deal."

"What are you talking about?"

"Our deal," Somin responded. "Because of this goddamn insulator, I get all fidgety. Not being able to cast illusions absolutely sucks. But, lo and behold, guess who comes to see me last night while I'm sleeping?"

"..."

"When I'm self-aware in my dreams, I can reinforce them using energy I can't use while conscious. So, in exchange for sentience when I'm asleep and the chance to talk to you, I said I would do what I can to help her escape, and help her with something she wants."

"Which is?"

"Both Vita and Mew want me to teach you to fight."

Rather than give a response, I slowly shifted my attention between Mew and Somin without uttering a word.

"Why?" I asked tentatively, narrowing my eyes.

"Well, from what I heard you got the shit beaten out of you yesterday and you couldn't defend yourself. I think the answer's pretty obvious."

I glared at him. "It was chaos, Somin. I hardly knew what was going on, let alone figure out how fight back."

"It brings up an important point, though," he responded. "Since it's obvious you're gonna be away from us for a while, what's the downside of learning to protect yourself?"

"So what is this, then? You're just going to teach me through your dreams? Not to mention stupid, just by the sound of it I can tell it's not gonna work."

The Zoroark smirked at me deviously. I was in the process of asking him what he thought was so funny when I noticed his eyes take on a purple glow, only seeming to increase the intensity of that dastardly smile.

"W-what the hell are you doi-" I tried spurting out before undergoing an intense feeling of vertigo. My entire body, stemming from my feet and rapidly spreading upwards, was soon engulfed in the same purple fire of his eyes.

I closed my eyes in surprise as the light engulfed me entirely. Perhaps two seconds passed before I could perceive the glow dim down through my closed eyelids. Tentatively, and bracing myself for what was ahead, I let my eyes open ever so slightly.

I wasn't quite surprised to find myself now maybe a tenth of my original height, staring straight up towards a hardly-composed Zoroark. As I grudgingly looked over my Zorua body, he broke out into full-blown laughter.

"It's not funny, Somin," I seethed.

"No, no," he wheezed between breaths. "I just can't believe how unbelievably easy that was! No energy drainage at all!"

"We're technically in a dream," Mew commented, "It would make sense that Illusionary power backs up what you envision. The possibilities here are infinite."

"I knew that much," he beamed, "I just had no idea it would be _this_ easy to do whatever the hell I wanted."

"Don't get too many ideas. I still haven't agreed to any of this," I warned.

"Well, Ray, to put it simply, you don't have a choice. I don't care if you hate me, and I _really_ don't care if you hate Mew for it. The whole team agreed, and we're pushing you through it anyways."

" _I'm_ the trainer, Somin," I shot back. "I have final say."

He stared back at me amusedly, narrowing his eyes. "As far as I'm concerned, I'm what you might call an 'interim' trainer. _Your_ trainer." He snorted before breaking the stare, finding the whole situation all too humorous to handle.

"Somin, I'm not joking!"

"Relax, relax, I was screwin' with ya. Just do me a favor and don't think of just yourself here. None of us want to see the shit beaten outta you, so keep an open mind for a sec. What happens if, say, those people chasing us come back out of nowhere and they have a Gothitelle trapping you in telepathy?"

"..." I felt my stare slowly lessening in intensity as his words snaked their way into my mind.

"Here's a better question, then. What would you do if _I_ were in that situation?"

The words spilled out of my mouth, though I tried my best to maintain a miffed tone in my voice. "Night Daze. Super-effective and a wide-radius attack, so you don't have to aim."

"Of course, you're not gonna be using Night Daze anytime soon, but you catch my drift. Rewind, though, to when I was a Zorua. What would you have me do then?"

I sighed, not quite grasping his point. "Feint Attack, and probably a follow-up or status move, depending on the situation."

"Ray, there's no point in having what you know if you can't apply it. Even the team can't think strategically as well as you. Think about it. All you need are the tools to finish the job."

I looked away in contemplation. As my disdain against the Zoroark started to fade temporarily, I realized I simply didn't want to learn because he would be the one teaching. I'd been completely open to Jet's secret instruction on Twist.

"And in the end, man, I'd much rather come out of this whole thing with you alive rather than dead. Be mad if you want, but look past it a little while to make a smart decision. If not for me, do it for Vita."

"Fine! Fine, just cut it out with the whole guilt tripping bullshit. I'll do it."

Both the Zoroark and Mew stayed silent for a few moments, absorbing my decision.

"I better not regret this," I warned, narrowing my gaze specifically on Somin.

"You won't," Mew's voice appeared behind me. I turned to face her. "I have to go… Somin asked for it. The whole 'secrets between species thing'."

"What? Why? What species secret do you honestly not know?"

"It's a formality, Ray. You know Somin and I don't like each other much, and we'd rather not stir the pot even more."

I shifted glances between her and Somin.

"I'll be back in a little while. Remember you're doing this for a good reason."

Before I could protest further, she, very frustratingly, waved goodbye before popping out of existence.

"You wanna get started? Sleep doesn't last forever."

Groaning under my breath, I complied with the Zoroark's wish, turning and stepping towards him.

"Three types of illusions," he started. "Explain them to me."

I gave him a stupid glance. "We're doing this right now? Right into it without any time to talk?"

"Don't be like that, man… Cooperate or don't do this at all."

"Fine, jeez. Give me a second."

I fished through memories of the conversations we'd had on the subject.

"Connecting Illusions only work on people you send a connection to, and don't actually have any effect outside their mind. Physical Illusions don't need connections and actually exist and can affect the world, but are almost impossible to conjure. Then there's perpetual, which will stay conjured for as long as the energy you put into it lasts."

"Alright. To put it nicely, you're just too inexperienced right now to cast any other type of Illusion than those that need connections."

"Fine, fine. What's the plan, then?"

"All I can do right now is show you what it _feels_ like to use certain moves. Now, what you're gonna feel is basically entirely from my memory, and I haven't been a Zorua for years, so it may be a bit off. When you're alone, experiment for a bit and see what works for you. It's different for almost everyone."

"Wouldn't it be better to teach me actual moves? I'm kinda getting the hang of using Illusions on my own."

"Confusion is a Zoroark's strongest weapon, my student," he joked, half to himself.

After sending him a glare for the jab and the nickname 'pupil', I reluctantly complied.

 _Just ignore him… He's always been like this, and it really shouldn't surprise me… This whole thing will go a lot faster if I just do what he says._

"Got it," I announced after a few seconds of searching, eyes closed. I focused on the faint buzz emanating from my chest.

"I can't teach you about agility. Not here, at least. I don't remember that much about movement when I was like you, so I can't recreate it. You'll have to work on that on your own also; dodging and stuff."

 _Already done. Jet taught me a lot about it, but I'd imagine Somin would get pissed if he heard about it._

"As for your core, focus on the energy coming out of it. You can feel the flow in your limbs, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," I snapped, "Just tell me how to do it."

"Patience, Padawan."

"Somin, _please_ cut it with the bullshit and just _tell me what to do._ "

I threw my eyes open to glare at the Zoroark. He eyed me back agitatedly.

He raised a paw, leading me to believe he was going to use another illusion. Much to my surprise, though, a small mass of black, volatile energy formed at the zenith of his center claw. I hardly had the time to jump out of the way before it arced towards me like lightning, rebounding and dissolving after it hit the exact spot I stood.

" _There_. That's what you do. Do you need help, or are you able to do it without me teaching?"

"Why did you even come to train me if you were going to make it miserable for me?!"

"Oh, Giratina," he responded, rubbing the bridge of his snout and closing his eyes. "You're making it horrible for yourself, Ray." Opening the claw in an exasperated gesture and opening his eyes, he continued. "Admit the fact you _need_ help and I can work to help. But if you're going to pout the whole time cuz of the fact _I'm_ higher on the food chain, that's your problem."

"That's not what this is! You're bigger than me, so what?! Your being an ass is the problem here!"

"Back up your words then," he said, crossing his arms. "What are you gonna do if I, say, call you a shrimp?"

"Cut it out, Somin."

"Ooh, someone's gettin' angry, aren't they? Can't hear you, though. Voice is a bit too weak, don't you think?"

"Somin," I said, seething. "I swear to Arceus I'll-"

"You'll what? What?" His body was soon to be enveloped in a purple haze. When it faded, a Zorua, one quite small and scrawny at that, appeared. I could see his bones under some thinner sections of fur. He seemed frail, above else.

"What are you gonna do, runt?" he heckled, smirking that devilish grin I'd come to hate.

I wanted nothing more in the world than to knock that grin off his snout.

Yelling, enraged, I charged at the Zorua, energy rushing to fuel my muscles. Replacing adrenaline, I could feel myself multiple times lighter as I sprinted forwards. Lowering my head, I tried simply ramming into the false Pokémon.

Somin simply disappeared, grin still intact. I ran straight through empty space on my blind attack.

"Come on," he teased from somewhere behind me. I turned to face him, cursing internally at the fact the grin had only seemed to grow wider. "I thought you said you _weren't_ weak."

Breathing heavily, I tried again, rushing straight towards the apparent Zorua. I tried simply tackling him yet again, only to phase through the body as I came upon him. I stumbled and fell in the aftermath.

A tantalizing chuckle reached my ears, only deepening the shade of red engulfing my vision.

"I'll show you, bastard," I cursed under my breath, getting back to my paws. One last time, I located the Zorua I'd come to hate so much and charged once more.

This time, though, instead of simply disappearing with illusions, Somin attempted sidestepping to further my humiliation. I took note of it and adjusted my course.

Much to my dismay, as I was about to impact the false Zorua, he leaped, easily clearing my height. A well-timed landing allowed him to kick my legs out from under me. This time, I stayed on the ground as I fell roughly.

"Fucking asshole," I coughed, breath knocked out of me.

"You gonna get back up, or prove me right?" the Zorua responded. I couldn't see him from where I lay, but I could hear him approaching.

"Hell no, not if you're gonna pull that kinda shit with me."

"You're weak, Ray. That much is pretty easy to tell," he sounded as if he was directly behind me. "All you've done is throw a pity-party for yourself since this whole thing started."

I stayed silent, hoping to regulate my breathing.

"'Oh, poor me'. 'Oh, why did this happen to me?' Bad shit happens to everyone, Ray. Get over it."

That was the last straw… After all he'd seen me go through, he seriously had the audacity to compare it to nothing. He had absolutely no idea what kind of toll this entire ordeal had taken on me, and I doubted, with his personality, he ever would.

I could feel my energy, very gratifyingly, spike with my anger.

 _You want me to use a fucking move? Fine by me…_

Improvising completely, I let my rage guide my energy into my right paw, specifically. If illusions were sent out like a sticky string, what were to happen if I were to pool and expel energy in the shape of a ball? A very violent ball.

Once I had gathered a considerable amount, I sectioned it off from the leg and, acting on instinct, spun around and ejected the energy outwards.

When I absorbed the sight before me, however, my spirits sunk faster than a Regirock.

As expected, a scrawny Zorua stood before me. All I could manage to see before collapsing into exhaustion was the tuft of hair atop his head sway ever so slightly, as if in a breeze.

From the ground, I constantly switched between shooting nasty glares at the creature and groaning.

"Well, it's a start?" he half-asked shrugging. With a blinding purple flash, he reverted to his regular form. He started to approach me calmly.

"Fuck off!" I yelled, raising my head as he drew near.

"What? Why?"

"Get the fuck over this? That's what you want me to do? You don't care at all, you prick!"

"Do I really have to explain it was a façade, Ray? It was pretty obvious, wasn't it? Get a rise out of you for an instinctual reaction and a move?"

"You think I care?! I don't! You went way too goddamn far, Somin!"

"Jeez, man, cool it. The _point_ was to get you pissed. Quit being so sensitive about it."

"Somin, I don't know if you've fucking noticed with how little you care, but I am a fucking newborn _Zorua_. Not a human, like I've been for my entire life, but a _ZORUA!_ Do you have any fucking idea how confused I am, how disoriented I feel?! I'm not in my OWN GODDAMN BODY! You capitalized on that, when you know nothing!"

"Eh, I actually know a lot of what it's like to be in a foreign form," he brushed me off, shapeshifting into multiple different Pokémon before reverting to a Zoroark. "And really, if I didn't care, why would I be here right now? Just because I don't really emote in general doesn't mean I'm insensitive. I feel for you, Ray, I really do, but I'm not gonna throw a pity party instead of moving forward and trying to get out of this hellhole."

"One that you landed us in," I snarled, looking away.

"Yeah, it's my fault. I can admit that much. I had my reasons, and they were the wrong ones. If we're handing out fault, though, we should focus on-"

"Let me stop you right there," I snapped my gaze back towards him. "We are not bringing Mew into this. It's between you and me, nothing else."

"Then what's the argument? I've already said us being here is my fault, so what's the problem?"

"Oh, I dunno, maybe the fact you went overboard with the insults? 'Weak', 'runt'? Where the hell did those come from?"

"I told you why… It was my job right then to get you pissed, and I think I succeeded. I didn't pull those words outta my ass, either. It's stuff you're gonna hear as long as you're like this, and frankly, you gotta learn not to be so damn sensitive about it."

I maintained my silent glare. Somin sighed.

"Be stubborn if you want. Only tryin' to help you. We need to get back to work, though, and not have another outburst. Sleep doesn't last forever. Now come over here."

Remaining silent in my contemplation, I complied, stopping a few feet short of the Zoroark.

"I was just dickin' around with you earlier. I can't teach you anything else about Illusions, it just takes practice. So yeah, I am gonna teach you moves. They're a ton like Illusions, but easier to maintain. On the other hand, Illusions are easy to conjure, but keeping one open for a long time gets difficult. Once you have a move ready and set, though, you're pretty much good to go."

"Fine. Tell me what the hell I'm supposed to do, then," I spat.

Ignoring my resentment, he continued. "Until you really get a feel for using energy, there are a few steps you gotta walk through in your head every time. Start by closing off the flow of energy in your body to anywhere except where you want it to go. Pool as much as you can without expelling it."

I shifted my eyes to meet his and complied without words. To spite him, I narrowed my eyes in a glare. As a result, I gave little introspection, but was able to direct energy into my paw nonetheless. I felt an decently intense buzz in the area as a result.

"Done," I announced angrily.

"No you're not," Somin replied, leaning back against the cave wall.

"Wanna bet?" I asked in response.

"I'll know it when you're putting enough energy in for a move to work," he replied nonchalantly, sliding down to sit. "Like I said, it's a lot harder than Illusions to start up."

"Yeah, but I'm _doing_ it," I protested. "Or is this just another fucking joke?"

"Chill, man. Concentrate and quit having your attention on me," he said, lowering further to lie on his back, facing the ceiling. Raising his arm nonchalantly, he continued, "I can tell you're putting twice as much energy into that glare than you are into your preparation."

I growled.

"Your loss if you can't concentrate long enough on your energy to do anything with it. We're gonna be here a _while_."

 _He's just toying with me. I already know I have it down._

Grimacing, I focused on the buzz in my paw, and much like before, expelled the built-up energy. Again, I shaped it into the first shape I could imagine, a ball.

Much to my amazement and rage, however, much of the same effect as before ensued; I simply saw Somin's fur shift as if in a breeze.

"Yeah," the Zoroark said. "I won't say I told you so, but just know I'm giving you infinite endurance to do this. Part of being my dream and stuff. Pull something like that on the outside and you're done. KO."

"What the hell am I doing wrong, then?" I retorted.

"Not concentrating, like I said. Meditate on it or something; you'll know when you get it done. It's about time I go anyways."

"Wait, are you fucking serious?"

"Nothing else I can tell you, man. Even if there was, I always get this feeling of vertigo when someone's trying to wake me up. Like the one I got right now… Either way, you're pissed at me, right?"

I didn't give an answer. His form started to fizzle and fade from existence.

"Guess so. Practice on your own, then. This isn't something you can do while constantly angry at me, so all I can really say is good luck. You'll know when you have it down, but don't even bother trying projectiles yet. If you do end up getting it, just smack something with your paw and see what happens."

"Somin, wai-"

He was gone. The cave around me disappeared from existence, swirling away with the Zoroark himself. I was revolted at what I recognized as one, final smirk before he left.

 _Fucking asshole._

* * *

"Nox, you'd better get your sleepy ass up before I kick it into high gear."

I mumbled something indistinct, burying my face deeper into my pillow to escape the harsh sun peeking through my eyelids.

"Go bwather shumun elss fo unce," I slurred, squinting my eyes.

"I'm warning you."

"Bite me," I concluded, letting off a small smile when I heard no more from the Axew. It seemed as if I got little to no mental rest while in my sentient 'dreams'. I was exhausted, feeling as if not a single wink of sleep had come.

I shifted, hoping to fall back asleep as soon as possible. I doubted anyone would be angry with my sleeping in, other than the single creature, to whom I was regarded as a slave.

My tail brushed up against something hard, but I chose to ignore it.

Ignore it, of course, until a sudden jolt ran up my spine, waking each and every muscle in my body as it passed. My eyes shot open and, despite my best efforts, I let out a painful yip.

Unlike the bite Misa'd given me in the _exact same spot_ two days prior, though, this one was brief. I simply turned towards her as her jaws unclamped from around my tail.

"HEY!" I yelled, giving no mind to the injured appendage. "What the hell?!"

She spat off to the side, saliva landing clumsily on the bed. "You still taste disgusting. You're up now, though, ain'tcha?"

"I swear to Arceus," I seethed, standing up. Thankfully, my injured thigh gave little protest. "You're gonna gnaw that thing off one day if you keep biting it for no reason."

"Yeah, definitely awake, and as un-fun as ever. Lighten up for once, pipsqueak, or maybe listen to your master every once in awhile, and I'll leave it alone."

Satisfied, she stepped towards the side of my bed, making a big show of jumping off it and onto the ground.

 _Another day…_ _Same stupid dragon._

Of course, I found it odd she didn't immediately interrogate me regarding my name or my affiliation to Drayden. A part of me wished she'd simply forgotten about it, but I knew, with her stubborn head, something had to have happened.

Maybe Mew had finally organized a decent conversation with her. I knew she wasn't talking to the dragon the previous night, but she may have done it while Somin and I were training. Misa had dodged my previous line of questioning regarding the legendary, so it was surely a possibility.

Mew had left before I could ask her anything, anyways. She hadn't returned after my 'training' with Somin, either. Perhaps it was close to morning by the time he'd finished. I certainly didn't feel as if any sleep came.

Reluctantly, I followed Misa off the bed and onto the ground, mindful of my thigh. I couldn't help but feel a small sting upon landing. Thankfully, my front, bruised leg was feeling much better, to the point I felt comfortable with walking on it.

"They're going to be mad if they see me up," I said.

"Eh, don't really care. Tell them you feel better and you'll be fine. Hell if I'm gonna stop myself from battling cuz I gotta wait for you."

"They're not gonna let you battle today, Misa. First, we hardly know anything about it, and second, what's wrong with waiting a little bit more?"

"No problem with wanting to do something useful," she replied. As we approached the door, she reached out to open it with a smaller latch at her height. After pulling, the door cracked open ever so slightly, allowing us to slip out.

"Don't you ever want to just relax and not do anything?" I asked as we stepped outside. I followed the marching Axew, dragged along by the invisible leash of her power over me.

"That's what night's for, stupid," she responded.

 _Not for me…_

"You oughtta learn to have some fun, pipsqueak. It'll make everything a lot more interesting, instead of you being a stick in the mud all the time."

"I'll sure consider that," I replied, snarling.

"You got sarcasm down, that's for sure," the dragon pointed out. "Try something else, won'tcha?"

"Just saying there's nothing wrong with going and having fun on your own."

" _Please_ ," she scoffed, "if I had half as much fun screwing around on my own than getting a rise out of you and bossing you around all the time, you'd be useless."

 _She's acting suspicious. Relatively amicable, despite the fact she was angry beyond belief with me yesterday… What happened?_

"You're acting weird," I pointed out as we stepped into the living room at the end of the hall. She proceeded to jump onto the sofa while I chose the armchair, judging it before leaping with some degree of accuracy. "Not that I'm complaining. I'm just not used to your being civil."

"No need to bash the truth out of you anymore," she replied, shrugging. "I already know your secret.

"Wait… What?"

"Yup, I know aaaaaaall about you, Nox."

…

"Bull."

"No!"

"Prove it, then."

" _Well_ ," she dragged out, jokingly. "I may not know now, but you wanna know what I _did_ learn?"

"What?"

She proceeded to lift up her arm, in it, a remote control. The device itself was huge in her grasp, easily half her height.

"Skipp told me the magic box thingy tells 'mon useful stuff."

I could feel my heart rate start to rise when threatened with the remote. I attempted to reinforce a feeling of calm confidence as I responded.

"Yeah, good luck with that. I bet you're not going to be able to even figure out how it works."

"Oh come on, it can't be _that_ hard," she brushed me off, laying the device on the ground. "Watch and learn, shrimp."

Confidently, the dragon raised a hand above her head, scanning the myriad of colored buttons with her eyes for a moment.

"Aha!"

She slammed her fist down on the remote, pushing the largest button she could find, dead center. It had some indiscernible human writing on it, but she was sure she was correct nonetheless.

She looked up to see nothing had happened; I sighed in relief.

"Helps if you know how to read 'human'," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Oh shut up, it's not like you'd do much better."

 _I actually would, thank you very much._

* * *

"Hya!"

"Nope."

Predicting a different approach would work, she started bashing the rectangular object on the couch beneath her. She huffed as she heard me snicker from the chair across from her.

She paused, hopeful, only to have those same hopes dashed as the screen before her remained black. She knew that wasn't normal; wasn't it supposed to show moving pictures?

"Oh Lugia, you actually had me scared there for a sec, Misa," I laughed. "The 'magic box' isn't much of a help, huh?"

The dragon, absorbing my words, paused for a moment, turning towards me with an unamused glare.

"Maybe the magic box needs the magic touc-AAAH!"

The same remote that'd been in Misa's hand not moments before was now whizzing through the air, sailing directly over my head. In a scramble to dodge it, I scooted back rapidly, tripping over my own body and falling off the chair.

I could hear Misa's breathless laughs, their source unseen from my position on the ground.

"That… Was… Hilarious!" she wheezes between uncontrollable fits of giggling. I shook myself off and formed a reply.

Yet, I bit my tongue. The Axew was acting different; aloof, even. With the direction each and every one of our conversations had progressed, what would a change in tone feel like?

For that reason, I decided not to tarnish the upbeat mood of the exchange. Even if I was slightly angry at her, I tried harnessing on the shred of playfulness I could feel in my core.

"You're gonna regret that!" I yelled back, though not with a hard tone. I hopped back onto the chair to find Misa had crossed her arms.

"Oh _please_ , as if a shrimp like you could do anything."

"Try me," I challenged. "Zoruas aren't called the 'Tricky Fox Pokémon' for nothing."

"Ooooh, I'm really scared. What're you gonna do, win by getting hurt and having me come to fight for you?"

"Oh ha ha. No, but you'll sure as hell know it when revenge hits you like a freight train."

I wore a smirk, the facial gesture having naturally formed. I found it hard to wipe it off my face, despite my best efforts.

"Freight train?"

"Nevermind," I rolled my eyes. With her knowledge of civilization, or lack thereof, I doubted she would get common simile.

"Way to kill the mood, idiot."

 _Yeaaaaah, she's actually right about that one._

Now falling back into my regular routine of silence, I peered around the open area. A minute passed in silence.

"You wanna do something?" Misa proposed, "Skipp and Seraph and everyone else aren't here. We should go explore."

"I'm not against it," I responded after recovering from a slight bout of shock. Had she just asked me if I wanted to do something? "But if they find us where we're not supposed to be, well, I dunno."

"I talked to Skipp about it yesterday, and she said we got full reign of the place. All the doors have thingies at our height that lets us open 'em. Anywhere in the complex, and Vulcan and him said we can go."

"Wait, anywhere anywhere?"

"There's still that 'study' or whatever they called it. That, and two others I found yesterday. So three doors we can't get into."

"One of those is probably where Seraph's sleeping, and the other's probably Skyla's room. Are you sure they told you that?"

"Yes, I'm sure. What are you, deaf? Have I ever lied to you before?"

I exhaled, moving my leg back and forth as much as I could how I sat. I truly appreciated my rapid healing time; I felt no pain whatsoever. The extent of my feeling in the limb was simply a dull throbbing.

"Fine," I relented. I'd hardly remembered anything of the complex outside the TEC as a result of my being deep in thought the previous day. While not exactly looking forward to interaction with Misa, I found it more beneficial than not.

"Don't think cause I'm bringing you along that I forgot about your secret," she continued, walking past the chair. I jumped down to follow after adjusting my bandages with a claw. "I'm still gonna figure it out, and when I do, man are you in for it."

"I dunno," I replied, looking up and away lackadaisically, "you seemed pretty miffed about it yesterday. Hit your head or something?"

"Skipp gave me some advice," she replied, "If I wanna get something outta you, I shouldn't beat you up for it, but wait for you to give it to me."

"That's… Actually really mature of you Misa, surprisingly. So, you're going to follow it?"

"Pfft, hell no. You're a stubborn little brat, Nox, and I know I ain't getting anything outta you. His idea's a good backup plan, but it's _a lot_ faster to search for clues."

"So you're gonna start treating me nicer? Hmm?" I asked sarcastically, quickening my pace to walk beside her.

I got a slug in the shoulder for my advance, prompting me to back off.

"Midgets walk in the back."

 _Guess just the same as ever._

"The _only_ reason I'm treating you like light trash instead of complete trash is because Seraph told me to let up a few days ago. 'He's hurt', she says, 'he needs a good role model.' It's all stupid, but if I'm gonna get in trouble, it's gonna be for a good reason."

 _It makes sense… Maybe? I don't really know; her explanation just seems plain flimsy. It really doesn't feel like something Seraph would say, either._

 _Well, maybe it does… But Misa, a role model?_

"Well, I gotta admit it's nice not having you yell or call me stupid every other sentence."

"Did I ask you to talk to me?"

 _Aaaaand, she's back._

We'd since nearly made it to another hallway branching off the main room. I tried digging through my memory to find which set of rooms it held, but came up fruitless.

" _You two._ "

I jumped as the female voice appeared out of thin air, slicing the silence with a well-sharpened and clear telepathic wording. I spun my head around, hackles raised.

" _Drayden requested I bring you both to him._ "

Standing before the both of us with a neutral facial expression was a Gardevoir, white nurse's apron draped over her natural dress-like exterior.

"D-Drayden?" I responded, heart racing from the shock.

"Whoa!" Misa exclaimed, ignoring what the Pokémon had to say. "Is that the telepathy thingy?!"

The humanoid didn't respond, facial expression remaining neutral. Instead, she stared directly at me, eye twitching ever so slightly.

" _You're not supposed to be walking as far as I'm informed, yes?"_

"Umm, I guess not. I feel fine, though, no pain."

Her eyes scrutinized me carefully.

"Hey, you gonna answer me?" Misa piped up.

" _I'll make a point to check you over. In the meantime, please follow the simplest of instructions and do not move until I clear you to do so."_

"Uhh, yeah… Okay."

 _Not exactly the kind of personality you'd expect of a nurse. At least she's straightforward with me, like just about no one else._

"Yoohoo! I'm talking to you!"

"Misa, just cool it for—"

" _Let's go."_

I felt a hand brush up against the back of my head. Looking up revealed the Gardevoir to be reaching out towards the Axew with her right hand, while her left rested on me.

I could tell Misa was not all too keen about accepting the Gardevoir's hand based only on the annoyed look she wore for being ignored. I heard the smallest of sighs from the psychic type before she, in one quick motion, lunged forward, dragged the yelling dragon towards me, and popped out of existence.

Teleportation with the Gardevoir, in short, was much more _bumpy_ than teleportation with Mew. Rather than the simple feeling of being dragged through a funnel, this instead felt somewhat akin to a car ride on a pothole-filled road, body compressed into a smaller form all the while.

I certainly didn't feel the best after regaining awareness of my surroundings. I was dizzy beyond all else, a result of the much less perfected teleportation method the Gardevoir exhibited.

Misa was in a much worse state, however, almost instantly turning to the side of the hallway in which we now stood and hurling everything in her stomach. I didn't dare interrupt the show, other than approach her to make sure death wasn't imminent.

"Oh jeez, sorry Misa," a raised voice sounded off from behind me.

"Skipp?" I replied, turning to face the Flygon that'd just addressed us. I had to raise my own voice above what I perceived to be quite the commotion. "What's going on? What's Drayden want?"

"Sorry we had to grab you guys on such short notice, and Misa, again, really, _really_ sorry about having you teleport with a fairy type. I know dragons don't like that…"

" _I tried to be as smooth as possible. The Zorua seemed to be fine with it, despite the type disadvantage,"_ the Gardevoir explained over the sounds of retching.

"Drayden didn't tell any of us about this before now," Skipp explained to me, "We had to get one of the nurses to get you both because we can't get back through the crowd."

Misa had since calmed, huffing quietly as she listened to the conversation. She sent horrid stares at the Gardevoir every few seconds.

"What's going on, then?" I asked.

"Drayden's making a surprise statement about this whole, uh, thing, and he wants you two here for it."

I blanched, trying to process the information. I'd never been one for crowds, and never exactly felt quite comfortable battling in front of one. There was a reason why spectators had never watched my Gym Battles live, even if they were televised.

"Why?! It's not like _we_ can talk to people!" I exclaimed, trying to peer behind Skipp and further down the hallway. I recognized it as the interior of the main Gym building, leading out into the lobby.

"People are a little skeptical about him trying to hide you two… After the train, I mean. He wants to prove nothing's wrong."

Though still nervous, I felt a bit of consolation with the words. A bit of me, in the brief introduction from the Gardevoir, believed Drayden's 'wanting us' had something to do with Vicus.

"What… the actual _hell_ … was that?" Misa wheezed in the silence to ensue.

"We're just doing something really fast and then we'll go," I replied, shaking myself out.

Just as I finished, the door leading to Drayden's main battlefield opened, revealing both himself and Vulcan at his side. The human was dressed in his formal Gym attire; gray overalls with purple straps and a white, button-down shirt.

With his Haxorus striding in tune next to him, he stopped before us, giving both Misa and me an eye before addressing all of us.

"Gardevoir, thank you for your assistance; you're free to go."

After bowing her head, the psychic-fairy type teleported out of existence.

With that, a downward glance was sent in my direction, for some odd reason. I shied away somewhat.

"Skipp," Drayden continued, "I would like you to go down and assist Crag with crowd control. Some points I'm soon to bring up will do little to calm their nerves."

"O-okay," the Flygon replied, sending a nervous glance towards Misa and myself.

"The hatchlings will be fine," Drayden assured.

"Y-yeah," the Flygon said. "Be careful, you two, and stay close to Drayden. He'll protect you if, well… Nevermind."

With that, he turned and left, walking down the hallway and turning right. Following him with my eyes, I saw a simple microphone on a stand, but no humans. I supposed they were all just out of sight, held back by no visible barrier.

"Misa, Nox," a deep, somewhat scratchy, calm voice addressed, piercing my thoughts. I turned to find it was Vulcan addressing us.

"Stay beside me at all times. Once you've both been thoroughly explained by Drayden to the crowd, I will be escorting you away until we can return to Drayden's residence on the other side of the complex."

"Okay…" I started… "This is all going a little too fast though, don't you think?

"Just don't say anything and keep composure. I apologize for not being able to give you both some time to prepare, but at times circumstance becomes hard to predict, especially in the situation we find ourselves in. This'll be over in a matter of moments."

" _Nox,_ " Misa whispered sharply into my large ears, recovering ever so slightly. "Tell me what the hell is happening."

I hardly had the time to absorb any information myself. A minute ago, I was trailing Misa in Drayden's residence without any idea of what was to come.

"Just… Go with the flow and do what I do," I suggested. I knew the Axew hardly retained any information in the wake of her upchuck. "We're about to do something really important, so I'll fill you in about it later."

The Axew, betraying a nervous glance behind me and towards the clamor of what must have been dozens of humans, nodded her head, swallowing.

 _She's not exactly been introduced to humans on a large scale before… She's gonna freak._

"If it hasn't been made aware to you both," Drayden pronounced, "I'm going to be addressing some major concerns regarding this whole fiasco. I've come under attack over the last few days due to my apparent hiding you from public eye. You've both become a special interest, and I'm here to dissuade the public."

I could see Misa start shivering out of the corner of my eye.

"You okay?" I asked in instinct, giving her a sideways glance.

"Y-yeah. Perfectly fine. I'm not scared… Y-you're scare-"

"Ladies and gentlemen," a calm voice burst through Misa's attempt at retaliation, making her jump. "The Opelucid City Gym Leader, Drayden."

The referenced Gym Leader, making no visible reaction, lifted his arm and snapped, pointing to the stage in front of us. The silent command compelled Vulcan to follow, simultaneously making sure both Misa and I were in compliance.

Before I knew it, we were walking as the crowd's noise dimmed to a hush. With the sudden lack of noise, the area was eerily quiet. I could hear the clack of Drayden's shoes against the tile floor.

The crowd seemed to be split in two. Much in the fashion of a normal press conference, people usually accompanied by cameras or holding notepads sat a few feet back from the stage. However, past them and held back by a simple rope attached to a few poles, was a conglomeration of normal people. I could see the crowd stretched far beyond the Gym's front doors, some even populating the area outside.

I tried focusing my attention on one, single individual as to not be caught up in the sight of them all. This soon proved to be impossible.

"I'm sure you're all interested for developments regarding the Chimney Bomber case," Drayden began, snapping me out of my stupor. I had to stop myself suddenly, as he Gym Leader had taken his spot behind a standing microphone and I was on a collision course with his leg.

Feeling warmth rush to my face, I backed up, turning to find Misa and Vulcan. Hoping to make my movement minimal, I fell into line next to Misa, not without noticing her subtle shaking.

"Of course, as you may very well know, I have chosen to directly involve myself with this case, not only because it has become a matter of personal importance, but because the unofficial main suspect was a boy in which I had a growing respect for."

"I would like to establish, however, that I'm not currently affiliating myself with the League. This information is my own, and shared on my own accord. Before I start taking questions, I would like to address the main issues. Please remain patient as I do so."

I could see reporters scribbling furiously at their notepads.

"First, I would like to speak on the future of my Gym."

The Gym Leader cracked his knuckles.

"Nothing, and I mean absolutely _nothing_ ," he jabbed, extreme conviction spiking his words, "will deter me from keeping this Gym open to all aspiring trainers. Such has been my calling for decades. Personal attacks, such as the one occurring upon myself and my team's arrival to Opelucid will not be tolerated. I would like to personally _dare_ anyone believing they are safe if they do so to try it. I can absolutely promise I will personally place you in a world of regret."

I found my attention shifting to the Gym Leader and his sudden aggression. The crowd was speechless, shocked at the obvious challenge. Whether or not it was inappropriate for an official statement I couldn't fathom.

"That being said, I will not let petty acts such as these hinder what I have always been doing. As of tomorrow, my Gym will be reopening to the general public under both mine and Skyla's leadership as she recovers from the tragedy regarding her nephew. End of story."

The crowd, previously in a death-like silence, erupted in yells. Reporters tried desperately to scream questions above the chaos.

Drayden's booming voice resumed over the microphone.

"Save your questions! I explained very clearly I wanted to explain all of my points before proceeding."

The mob was slow to die down.

"While we're on the topic of the blatant and unprecedented assault two days ago, I would like to question something. Why is it all the popularity surrounding the incident regards my trying to conceal two hatchlings from the public eye? It's almost as if every single one of you is groping desperately for a reason to say I'm a conspirator, in cohorts with Ray Alston."

I cringed at the mention of my name. Misa hardly seemed to notice it, however. She was frozen in place.

"To disprove any of the unfounded lies regarding my hiding something, I'd like to introduce the entirety of Unova to two, terrified hatchlings, forced to stand on a stage in front of hundreds of people, powerless and afraid. All because my trying to hide them from a _violent mob_ is somehow a conspiracy, they're compelled to be here, and are both incredibly brave for doing so."

I understood most of what Drayden was saying was for dramatic emphasis, but I couldn't help but hear some truth in his tone.

"Not only was myself, my team, and Skyla assaulted, but two, starved hatchlings with hardly any predisposal to humans were as well. The Zorua, Nox, sustained heavy bruising to the face and upper body, while my Altaria was _shot_ with fairydust-laced bullets as to deter her recovery. She is incredibly lucky not to have sustained permanent damage as a result of the ordeal."

I sighed somewhat in relief. Seraph was going to be fine.

"What are the hatchlings origins? Ray Alston had a Zoroark, is the Zorua related?"

"What did I say about questions?!" Drayden fired back at a thin, nasally reporter with long black hair. "Are you all that compulsive?!"

Drayden turned to face Misa, Vulcan, and myself. After scanning us with his eyes, he sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"This has been a stressful few weeks for all of us," he said. "Skyla was in Opelucid, hoping to visit her nephew only to find he'd disappeared from the city without a trace. When news of the Chimney Bombing broke out, I couldn't simply deny her requests for help."

I found myself listening intently to the story, thanking Arceus Misa seemed too zoned-out to care.

"She attempted making contact with Alston, but a troubling response led us to a habitable area in the Twist Mountain Range. How and why his full team and his gear was found halfway across the world from Mt Chimney is a potential subject for debate."

The room was in an absolute silence. I could hear the sound of my own breaths.

"It was then we learned that Ray Alston, as the evidence suggests, perished as the Chimney Bomb exploded."

Hushed murmurs erupted from the crowd as I turned I stare at the Gym Leader incredulously. Sure, I'd died that night, but he had to have known he was telling a blatant lie.

"In order to throw off investigative efforts," Drayden continued, "it is believed the primary catalyst of the explosion transported his team and his gear to an area in the Twist Mountain Range they'd inhabited a few years before. Among the primary suspects for the incident itself is the UPF."

The people were in a shocked silence. I could see the reporters fumble for questions.

"Regarding the pair of kits," he continued on a less somber note, "they were both found together, nearby, having nearly escaped with their lives after a scrape with a feral Beartic. After arranging a deal with Ray's team, we all set off as a group for Timberline, the closest town with a medical center able to take us, where emergency treatment was administered to Nox. He'd sustained serious damage to his right, hind thigh."

"Does that mean Alston's team is here, in the Gym?" asked a middle-aged woman with stern features. She seemed less affected with the news of my death.

"I will not provide comment on this."

Gaining traction and confidence after figuring Drayden's spiel was over, other reporters found the courage to input their questions.

"What is planned for the future of the hatchlings?"

"What efforts are being made by the League to apprehend those responsible?"

"One at a time," Drayden grumbled as if addressing children. "The hatchlings are staying with me for the time being. We are hoping to formulate a plan for their future after this fiasco."

He sighed. "As for those responsible, we believe a behind-the-scenes resurrection in the UPF has been occurring for quite some time now. It is believed the two executives surviving and escaping the final raid on their headquarters thirty-two years ago have given the organization new life. All citizens, now that we have confirmation, have a right to know the UPF is alive and well."

I perked my ears… Was this description of what I thought it was? The room fell in silence for a moment after Drayden's heavy words.

"Does this mean Alston was targeted by the organization?"

"This is what I believe, yes. It's a controversial opinion, certainly, but one based in fact. There has been a trail of breadcrumbs leading to the possibility a potential antagonistic affiliation with the organization, which would ultimately lead to Alston's target and fleeing."

"Drayden, if you could slow down for a moment," a reporter looking to be in about his mid-twenties said, raising a hand in a motion to stop. "I'm sure many viewers are hardly familiar with this 'UPF' you speak of. Would you mind elaborating on who they are?"

Drayden shot the reporter a dumb look, facial expression not at all hidden under his excessive facial hair.

"You all can conduct your own research on the UPF, but it is an unofficial name passed around news organizations and amongst the league for the organization responsible for the coordination of many of Unova's underground crime rings. They have the capacity to do great things; their advancements in science and illegal experimentation alone rival the capability of many of the world's best universities."

People began to raise hands and shout for Drayden's attention. He ignored all of them.

"I shall end with this: I am putting myself in extreme danger by challenging the UPF in this way. An innocent trainer was killed, however, and I will not back down. I personally invite any operatives hoping to inflict harm on myself, Skyla, my team, or these two kits to do so. You won't make it past the front desk."

The room erupted in noise as Drayden ushered us back off the stage with a stern look. I had predicted his speech would be much more lengthy, but was ecstatic to be rid of the hundreds of stares in my direction. Feeling somewhat anxious at the unprecedented challenge, however, I shook myself and led the march away, making sure Misa hadn't been frozen in place before proceeding.

The next minute or so was a blur. Ignoring any questions, Drayden had taken the lead, directing Vulcan, Misa, and myself through the exterior doors of the main battleground before taking a left down a hallway and leading us into an office of sorts. Only when the door slammed shut behind us did I snap back to reality.

It was a simple room we now stood in, a window with shades drawn stretching the entirety of the back wall. Drayden, sighing roughly, sat down in a spinning chair.

Misa was still petrified; whether or not she was trying to speak I couldn't tell. It'd surely been a bad idea to introduce her to humans in such a way.

"I'm going to help the others get everyone out of the lobby," Vulcan said, breaking the silence. Drayden, despite being human, nodded in understanding, motioning for the Haxorus to exit. He must have understood his dragon's intentions.

After he left, however, Misa and I were left alone with the Gym Leader.

"So, you two are settling comfortably, I assume?"

Silence. I stared at him awkwardly, uncomfortable with being left alone with the singular most suspicious creature in the entire facility. Something about his behavior wasn't right.

"I know you are able to use illusions, Nox," he remarked plainly. "And I don't believe we've had a proper conversation yet. I'm interested to learn more about you both."

" _Why did you lie to those people?_ " I put forth simply, breaking through my inhibition to speaking using illusions. I figured acting clueless would do the best for me.

"I didn't lie."

" _You did!_ "

"Tell me then, Nox. When did I lie?"

" _You told them we weren't with Somin and everyone else. Misa wasn't, but I was._ "

"Telling the truth without context is not a lie, Nox. I told them you were both found nearby, and that Misa was attempting to assist you. Am I wrong?"

" _N-no, but… You said Ray died because of the Chimney Bomb._ "

"Alston _did_ die at around the same time the Chimney bomb detonated. Be it from a stab wound, as evidenced through a bloodstained couch in his Hoennian residence, but it did reside in the same sequence of events. Or, are you trying to tell me otherwise? We both know Alston is dead, Nox, Brycen's staying on Twist was nothing more than a ruse to convince Skyla to leave. Your friends told me this much."

He leaned forwards in his seat. "Unless, of course, you're trying to tell me he's alive? With a legendary present, that would certainly be possible."

 _Shit… Shit shit shit. Does he know?_

"Of course, it's entirely possible your friends are lying to me. However, it is not a lie in itself if I relay said information. It's simply what I've been told and forced to believe."

I shied away, bumping into Misa on the journey backwards. I'd forgotten she was present, and a sideways look at her revealed she had comprehended everything Drayden had said. I had a _lot_ to answer for.

"You're obviously an interesting character, Nox. Not to exclude you as well, Misa. From your account, you must have been on that mountain for quite a while. A dragon of your age and stature shouldn't be alive."

"Pssh… I'm tougher than I look."

I could see Drayden roll his eyes somewhat, as if he'd derived what she was saying. He probably knew through inference.

"I believe you'll both come to find we share mutual _goals_. Once you come to that realization, I'm sure we'll all get along swimmingly. I would like to state for the record, however, my apologies for this whole situation."

" _We're just sitting here doing nothing to fix it,_ " I projected, instantly regretting it. The thoughts had simply spilled out, and between the light pants of exhaustion from the exertion of creating the connection necessary, I felt my pupils shrink in anticipation.

"On the contrary, Nox," Drayden replied in an unnaturally relaxed voice. "Everything's falling into place. You may not know how, but if you take one piece from this conversation, know this… You will never in your lifetime see me lie to you. 'The truth is more powerful than any weapon', so I've been told."

Something wasn't right… The way he was acting was too informed. He knew I knew he knew, so to speak. He wasn't saying anything about it, though? Why?

"With that being said, go about your regular daily activities with my team and know everything's being sorted out."

I sent a timid stare at the Gym Leader. His lack of tension was unnerving, especially after such an event as the one he'd just spoken in.

A familiar female voice cut through my head. " _You called again?_ "

I flung my head around, hackles raised at the startling introduction. The Gardevoir from before stood now before me. I could notice Misa taking a combative stance out of the corner of my eye.

"Yes, Gardevoir, I did," Drayden responded. "I want you to take Nox here and look him over. Heaven knows Altaria will burn the building down if she sees him walking around like this while she's been recovering. As for Misa…"

"Make me teleport with her again and I'll kill you."

"I'll take her back to the living quarters myself," the Gym Leader continued, ignoring the Axew's threat.

Before I'd realized what Drayden was doing, he'd gotten up, scooped an indignant Axew under a single arm, and began exiting the room.

"Let's speak again soon, Nox. I'm sure we can learn much from one another."

He was gone, having completed such a great length to avoid further questioning. A twinge of apprehension in favor of Misa's future struck me before I shook it off.

 _Something's really wrong._

* * *

 **This chapter was always a bit iffy for me... From here, I feel like my writing flattens out, in a sense, which was my least favorite part about writing the second half of Act II... I don't really have much else to say.**

 **Discord Invite still applies, we have a bunch of authors from all across Pokemon FFN, and we'd love it if you'd join! Code: AmkQGzD**


	18. Same Stupid Dragon

**l**

 **Chapter XVII - Same Stupid Dragon**

* * *

"U-uhh…"

"Is something wrong?"

"Um… Nurse Gardevoir, can I talk to you in the hall for a movement?"

The Audino who'd spoken, certainly unknowing of the extent of my sentience, shot a desperate look in the humanoid's direction. Sighing, the Gardevoir carting me around the facility nodded and led the way outside.

"No, nothing's wrong dear," the Audino said. "We'll be riiiiight back, don't try to move anything."

Watching me, she backed out the door and closed it lightly shut behind her.

The Gardevoir had taken me just down the hall, to where the Gym's Nurses' station laid. Since then, as promised, her and her Audino colleague starting probing me, checking my injury, no doubt.

The Audino had started her evaluation alone as not to crowd me, pausing and becoming nervous after a short amount of time. I had no idea what to feel about it.

 _What if they found out I'm not a natural Zorua?_

It'd been maybe fifteen minutes since Drayden had left me to the Gardevoir, and I found my thoughts gravitating slowly towards Misa. I had a lot to explain to the Axew if I didn't want to be found out, and needed to come up with yet another lie to tell her.

 _Just tell her the truth._

Out of the question… I hardly knew the Axew, let alone enough to trust her. I'd already had this discussion with myself, and my answer was unchanging.

I entertained myself while the two nurses were outside by swishing my tail back and forth in front of my face. The movement felt natural, and whether or not to feel afraid because of that notion was beyond me. At the very least, I was now predisposed to my body, but what if I was getting _too_ complacent with it?

A part of me wished I would be able to calm down, and there were, many times, moments in which my guard temporarily dropped. It felt nice whenever it happened, but the human side of me suppressed it all instantly.

Zorua instinctiveness was well-taught to me over years with Somin before he evolved. I noticed the same behavior in myself at times. The desire to play pranks, make jokes, cast illusions; I'd felt it a few times since I'd arrived at Timberline.

I didn't understand fully why I was so against these new instincts. They were unwanted, and simply a part of my new anatomy, sure, but it surely wouldn't hurt my façade to act like a Zorua kit, through and through. It wasn't as if I was going to lose my humanity.

Was it pride? I had a great amount of it. If I were to start acting odd, there would be no doubt others' view of me would decline. If not Misa and Drayden's team, who all expect me to act normal, my own team would surely provide great embarrassment.

 _They're not around right now, though… If my talk just now with Drayden tells me anything, it's that he's on to me. If I were to act 'normal' around them and like myself around my team, there would be no problems, right?_

Before I could give the matter any more thought, the Audino and a human opened and stepped through the door. The Gardevoir wasn't present.

The human was a Nurse, as far as I could tell. Her facial features were soft, and she was overall somewhat chubby. Her mid-length blonde hair was tied back into a bun hidden under her white cap, accompanied by a matching apron. Both articles of clothing held a Pokéball insignia on them.

"Hi there," she introduced herself in a light, bubbly voice, "I'm Nurse Whitley. Nurse Audino is one of my assistants."

"Hi," I replied softly, feigning nervousness.

"Nurse Gardevoir told me Nurse Audino found something really special about you," she made sure to say 'special' as if it were beneficial. My heart sunk, instantly believing they found out my body wasn't organic, or something along those lines.

"O-okay," I responded, readjusting myself. "Is that bad?"

"No! No, not bad," the Audino laughed nervously, feigning the same personality as the human. "If anything, it tells us why you were able to heal so fast, and could mean you'll grow up to be a really strong Zoroark! That's not bad to me, at least."

She chuckled again. Combined with her puppy-speech, it took all I had to keep acting like I knew nothing. Her explanation did confuse me, however. What the Pokémon revealed was something I was unaware of.

My vision was soon redirected again, however, when a familiar face passed through the door behind the duo.

"Skipp," I greeted as the Flygon stepped around the Nurses and towards me.

"Hi, Nox," he responded with a nod and a weak smile. "You doing okay after all that?"

"Yeah, I'm fine… Have any idea what these two are talking about?"

"Some," he admitted painstakingly… "Turns out the machine wasn't entirely broken in Opelucid, and they asked I be here to help everything go smoothly."

"Smoothly?"

He nodded, leaning into whisper to me. "An in-depth energy measurement. The Nurse will explain it to you herself… Gonna be missing pieces, though… They don't know you're smart."

"A-alright?" I whispered back, "Why all the secrecy?"

"Drayden doesn't want anyone knowing about how smart you are. Personal reasons."

"Okay then? What do I have to do?"

"Listen to the Nurse and don't take offense at how she talks to you. We'll play the rest by ear, okay?"

I gave an apprehensive nod, seeing no other options, the dragon, in turn, turned towards the human and nodded.

"We were wondering," the girl sparked to life, "if we could use your help with something."

"..."

"We, umm… Need to get a sample so we can figure out how strong you are! So we can tell you! Will you help us?"

I shot Skipp a subtle glare. With her encouragement, I nodded slowly.

"Wonderful!" she celebrated in an octave I was unaware was possible. "I promise this is only going to hurt just a little bit."

* * *

"Pfft, what happened to you?"

"Eeeeeeehhh."

"Quit mumbling already!"

"He's exhausted, Misa."

"Why? It's not like he did anything important!"

"They had to take a bit of blood for something, so I don't think he's gonna be able to play today."

"Oh come on! I made all these plans and everything! Come on, pipsqueak, get up and let's go. You have a _lot_ of explaining to do."

"Misa, he's not going anywhere… The faster you let him rest for a few hours, I'm sure the faster he can play with you again."

"Hmph."

The small dragon, peeved at having her plans for interrogation ruined, hopped off the chair she stood on to yell at the lethargic Zorua.

"Explore by yourself all you'd like. Drayden isn't officially reopening the Gym until Monday, so you're still able to do whatever you want for like, two more days. You can show Nox around some more when he's feeling better, okay?"

Misa growled to herself.

"You got lucky this time, shrimp," she said to herself under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," she grumbled as she started walking into the far hallway. She wanted to say something else to the infuriating Flygon, but held her tongue.

 _What am I gonna do now? As much as I hate the pipsqueak, he's the least boring thing about this place._

She made sure she was out of sight before sinking to the ground along a wall in defeat. Nox always thought himself better than her. Why else wouldn't he spill his guts? It infuriated her to no end. He'd been getting better, sure, but he still wouldn't give his stupid secret.

She didn't know why, but the intrigue of the Zorua's mysteriousness captivated her fully. She saw herself as a detective of sorts, and a failing one, at that. How was she supposed to assert her dominance if she couldn't do something so trivial?

She looked towards the ceiling… Being a big, strong dragon was a lot harder than she'd imagined.

The entire situation had been one clue after the other to her. The problem was, however, the fact she had no idea how to put the pieces together. It was becoming more of a game than anything as she came to loathe the Zorua less and less. An incredibly frustrating game.

And she was determined to win.

She would have an opportunity to speak to him again later that night, she was sure. Maybe she would be able to play on his obvious exhaustion in order to have him involuntarily give up the truth. For that, she would need to make a plan.

…

 _I don't know! He makes plans, so that's his thing. Dummies like him need plans to do anything, but I'm better than that._

As more of a sideways glance than anything, she spotted a gray-tipped, yellow tail as it disappeared behind a corner.

 _Vulcan._

Smirking, she jumped up to attention and chased after the departing Haxorus, shouting his name.

"Hey! Wait!"

The behemoth, quite a monster turned and shot her a neutral look.

"Yes, Misa?" he responded as he turned to face his pre-evolution fully.

"Whaddaya doin'?"

The Haxorus narrowed his eyes. "If you wanted to stop me for simple chat, I'm afraid I can't accommodate right now. I'm busy at the moment."

He started walking away, only to find Misa was right on his heels, beaming up at him.

"That's okay! You'll hardly notice I'm here!"

Vulcan looked her over before laughing, if only slightly. "I'm fine with it," he said. "I'm assisting Drayden in preparation for the reopening of the Gym in two days time."

"... That sounds boring. I thought you did a bunch of cool stuff while you were gone."

He shrugged ever so slightly. "Depends on your definition of 'cool'. Most of time time I 'disappear', I'm either sleeping, eating, or meeting with Vicus and Drayden… There will be times where Drayden and I go on missions alone, though those are few and far between. I may be strong, but I'm an old Pokémon at heart."

"Hmm… How old are you?"

He tilted his head back and forth in thought. "Well, I myself stopped counting, but I was born a few years after Drayden. We were childhood friends after I hatched. So, judging by his age, eighty-five or so years?"

"Whoa! You're older than my dad, and he was almost the oldest in the colony!"

"Ah, your parents…What are they like?"

Misa's eyes lit up like stars. "My dad's the strongest Haxorus ever! He was the leader of my clan when they decided to take over the cave where I was born! Misty-ralts-ton, Nox told me it was called, or something like that."

All traces of lightheartedness slept his face.

"What did they do to the clan occupying the space before?"

"He said they were all filthy half-breeds, instead of real Haxorus like us!"

"Misa…"

"He was able to beat anyone that challenged him easily!"

"Misa."

"Yeah?"

Vulcan sighed. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't talk about half-breeds condescendingly. My father was a Garchomp… My clan was likely the one you jousted from the cave."

"Well, I mean… I've never met a half-breed before. You don't look different…"

"It's simply genetic. I'm still a Haxorus at heart, completely."

"Huh… Well, my dad was probably wrong when he said _all_ half-breeds were worthless. And even if our families don't like each other that much, we can still be friends, right?"

 _At least she's able to move past her domestic beliefs… Many dragons aren't able to achieve even that. I doubt her father the most pleasant of Pokémon._

"Did you have any littermates?"

"Yeah, they used to make fun of me 'cause I hatched last. I don't care, though. My dad said that, even though I was the youngest, I could do the passage first!"

"The passage?"

"Yeah! The ritual thingy where Axew evolve into Fraxure. All my littermates have to do it, but he let me go first!"

"They did not have such a ritual in my clan… What else is there to know about it?"

"Well, when an Axew's ready for evolution, they're left alone in the wild until they do! When they become a Fraxure, they're allowed to come back home. Simple as that!"

"... And how old did you say you were?"

"Six months! Gonna be seven in a few days!"

"And you're ready to be a Fraxure?"

"Yup! I worked extra hard!"

"Misa… Evolution doesn't quite work like that…"

"Whaddaya mean?"

Vulcan gave the Axew a hard stare. She was completely clueless. Vulcan tried his best to divert the conversation without placing wool over her eyes.

"Do you know what the leveling system entails?"

"No, never heard of it."

"It's a relatively new concept, but there's a device certain people can use that can measure a Pokémon's energy strength and output. Each level takes an exponentially greater amount of combat experience and training to achieve from the last, and when a Pokémon reaches a certain tier, they will naturally evolve… Would you like to see how far you are along yourself?"

Misa tilted her head and scrutinized the Haxorus with gaping eyes. Vulcan returned her stare as she formed a response.

"Is that like the thing Nox did? He's like, really tired after it."

"No, no. Nox was a special case due to the nature of his energy. We could put him on the same scale, but it would yield inaccurate results. A more in-depth test to check the behavior of his energy is necessary."

"Eh, fine, it's not like I got anything better to do."

Vulcan, nodding, opened a door to his right.

"This is Drayden's and my room. He asked I grab something for him, and then we can make our way to the TEC. I will make arrangements for a level scale."

"Sounds good to me…"

The room was neat and organized, yet dark, with no windows to provide natural lights. Everything seemed to have its place; the bed was made perfectly, a desk with different writing utensils laid meticulously in rows. The furnishings were sparse, to say the least. A barebones sort of lifestyle could be inferred.

Vulcan crossed the room, switched on a lamp atop a desk, and opened a single drawer. He seemed to notice first, however, a pristine piece of paper laid perfectly in the center of the desk. Letting the slightest of scowl form on his face, he crumpled it in a single claw and held it firm.

Misa's interest spiked. Paper was the stuff humans used for writing stuff, right? She'd heard some sort of reference to the stuff a while back, and she'd even seen some of the human language. It was indiscernible, but it wasn't as if she knew any sort of written language, for that matter.

She could hear the drawer close as Vulcan dropped the crumpled paper inside and turned off the light. In his other claw, and glowing in the darkness was a perfect, white, glowing orb. It pulsated in a regular rhythm.

He walked straight past her and out the still-open door. She jumped to attention as he began to speak again.

"Under normal circumstances, Drayden would retrieve this himself. I'm afraid he finds himself busy entertaining the masses, however…"

Misa set aside her interest in the paper for a moment in order to interrogate the Haxorus.

"You guys mention this 'Vicus' dude a lot, but I ain't ever seen him. Where is he?"

Vulcan was silent for a moment.

"You could say he doesn't take kindly to visitors unless he invites them himself. His room is in the basement."

"Basement… You guys gotta basement here?"

"Of sorts. You are to never try and go down there without myself or Drayden present, understand? It's dangerous down there."

"O-ok… Can you tell me who he is, at least?"

"A childhood friend of both Drayden and myself. He helped Drayden get through some hard times in both of our lives by giving him the tools of success. He taught us all the value of truth above all, and had been a mentor of sorts ever since. My whole team holds him dear, and he's an unofficial member of our party, in a sense."

"Huh. Why haven't I met him?"

"Very antisocial. All of his outside interaction is through Drayden. He only ever talks to the team, and no one else."

"Oh, he can talk to Pokémon? Nox says humans can't do that."

"... I won't lie to you Misa, so I'd appreciate it if you dropped the subject. I regret bringing him up."

Misa understood the implied meaning and, coming from the only creature in the complex she saw as a superior, she shut her mouth.

"What's that white thingy then?" she asked in a new direction.

"Oh, this?" Vulcan responded, holding the orb for her to see, smirking ever so slightly. "We were sent to find it a while ago. It has supernatural powers, one could say."

"Really?" Misa responded, eyes beaming.

"Yes. Would you like to see?"

He leaned down, stopping, so he could reach down to the Axew's height.

"Go on, touch it."

Misa looked into Vulcan's eyes tentatively and found no malice. What reason did he have to trick her?

The orb was still pulsating a bright white in a regular, calm rhythm much like that of a heartbeat. Mentally shrugging, she reached forward and let the palm of her hand rest on the warm surface.

It felt like smooth glass, though she hardly noticed as a nearly audible _WHOOSH_ filled her ears. Power flooded her system as a red-hot blaze ignited in her chest. She staggered somewhat in surprise, falling back and away from the orb.

She heard a deep, hearty chuckle as she shook her head to clear the buzz and subsequently regained her hearing.

"This artifact is known as The Light Stone. It affects dragons, specifically, by diffusing energy, meaning what you felt was a fraction of my power flowing from me to you temporarily. It's said Reshiram himself, the god of fire and truth, lived within the stone until he was freed by a human, and some of his power remains locked away inside until it becomes absolutely needed."

"Y-you don't feel anything?"

He chuckled again. "I have no need for Reshiram's power here and now, and as per how the artifact functions, energy transfers from the stronger being to the weaker. Of course, despite our energies being compatible, I'm afraid the volume was too much for your body to handle, so it flowed right through you."

"Wow… You feel like that all the time? That was…"

"Yes, it is quite nice. I've gotten used to it all by now, of course, but if I weren't predisposed, that would be what I would feel like."

"What are you doing with it?"

"With this whole situation, Vicus has asked Drayden keep it on his person at all times. Vicus trusts no one else to protect it, and is quite afraid to go near it himself. I came to fetch it while he was busy."

"Huh…"

"Let's go, shall we? Drayden's probably waiting."

* * *

I was aware the entire day afterwards, in a sense, but then again not. I could see everything going on and arrive to certain conclusions, though other things hardly registered as wrong.

I eventually did fall asleep again, however, and had the first deviation from _the_ dream I'd had in awhile.

Not continuing the line of 'dead Zorua' dreams I'd had previous, this one was much more vague. Too vague to remember, in fact. I just remembered I was being chased by something big… Something dark. Something with a needle, much like the one used to extract blood hours earlier.

I also was unaware as to whether or not I escaped. Part of me was glad to be back to normal nightmares rather than the recurring, pointless dreams of weeks prior.

Perhaps Mew had fixed it after all. I hadn't yet the opportunity to talk to her about it.

I felt now as if I'd slept way too much, but was comfortable and reenergized nonetheless, no doubt under a load of heavy blankets.

I scanned the room to find I'd been moved back to my bedroom while I was asleep. There was also the possibility such an action had occurred while I was awake, but was too 'out of it' to notice.

I needed to get up and stretch my limbs. It felt as if I hadn't moved for hours upon hours. I doubted I would be getting to sleep that night, either, with my sleep schedule surely skewed.

I tried wriggling off the blankets so I could stand, only to find they _shifted_ on their own. I stopped moving to test it and silently waited as the layer of warmth above me came to a slow standstill.

I tried squirming forwards again, making some headway this time around. By the time I was nearly free, though, a voice began speaking.

"Nox?" she asked as if reaffirming her position. "I'm sorry, did I wake you up?"

"Seraph!" I responded as she shifted away, eyes widening, "You're okay!"

"Oh dear, I fell asleep, didn't I?"

It was Seraph's wing draped over me, not a pile of blankets. Upon realization, she retracted it and looked at me expectantly.

"Don't worry about it," I said cheerfully, somewhat tentatively, but hoping to reassure the Altaria nonetheless. "H-How are you?"

She stared down at me for a moment before sighing. "I'm doing much better now. I caught Skipp bringing you back to your room and I offered to keep you company. I've been rather lonely over the last few days."

"I'm glad you're okay…"

"Me too, honey…"

She grunted as she stood, something obviously ailing her in movement. I got up as well, feeling the strength now to do so.

"Does it hurt?"

She chuckled briefly. "Yes, but I've been taken care of rather well. It's going to take much more than a gunshot to stop me."

"B-but they said it was like… Fairy-coated, or whatever. Don't dragons hate fairies?"

"Well, the wound was only a graze, thankfully, but yes. My core's ability to help heal has been impeded, so recovery will be slow. But, I'm doing well, or so I've been told."

She readjusted herself as she stepped off the bed. She readdressed me as she stilled.

"You're not feeling at all woozy? They did take quite a bit of blood."

"Needles suck," I said simply, shivering.

"I'm sorry for all that. I'm sure if there was another way, we could have just as easily used it. But, on the bright side, you _are_ almost completely healed. Of course, you'll have a scar to show for it, but you're incredibly lucky we had no more complications. I'm sure if we sneak a Sitrus in your meal, you'll be completely or almost completely healed by morning."

As she spoke, we started walking towards the door. She opened it with a turn of the upper knob.

"Plus, I believe it makes you look rather tough. Gives the impression you've had some rough battles."

I took a glance back at the bandages. It would be a shift, certainly, to have them removed permanently. I wasn't looking forward to the permanent reminder, despite Seraph's words.

"Take it from me when I say females definitely think they look nice. You're going to be very popular with them in the future, I'm sure."

I could feel my face burn. "S-Seraph, come on!"

She laughed openly. "I suppose you're too young for all that, hmm?"

"I don't know! Just… Agh, come on!"

"You'll thank me one day. However, I believe it's about time we ate then, no? And, for behaving so well while I was indisposed, I think I can get sneak you a special treat."

* * *

"Hey pipsqueak! You're-... What are you doing?"

I didn't even bother looking up to face the Axew as I rabidly tore through the Poffin before me.

"Oh Arceus, this is so good," I said, mostly to myself, as I was chewing. The taste was incredibly addictive, and while I couldn't put a finger on what its attributes were, I _loved_ it. A perfect medley of flavor. Seraph had detailed the already-known fact Poffins were made for each individual type, but as a human, I had no clue they were _this_ wonderful.

"Hello Misa," I heard Seraph say over the grunts of the Axew as she tried climbing up a barstool by the kitchen counter. I myself was on the tabletop. "I heard you were on your own today, did you find something to do?"

"Oh yeah!" she exclaimed. "Vulcan taught me how to fight like him! It was awesome!"

This prompted me to raise my head ever so slightly.

"He what?"

"Yep! You heard me! He brought me into the main battleground and showed me some things! I'm even better than before!"

I reminisced on the first time we met, in which we had not one, but two scuffles with one another… I'd barely been acquainted with my body, and yet I was somewhat of a match for her.

"Better watch out shrimp," she added, "I'm pullin' ahead!"

"Misa," Seraph scolded. "Cut it out with the nicknames please…"

"..."

"It's not like he cares I use 'em."

I eyed the smaller dragon out of the corner of my eye. She wasn't wrong. I'd become desensitized to the nicknames more than anything, at least coming from her. Anyone else, though, and I doubted I would take it kindly. The image of a certain Zoroark popped into my head, reminding me I would be seeing him yet again that night.

Rather than speak or back up either side, I gave up on caring and dug back into my Poffin.

"Oh Zekrom," I could faintly hear Seraph mutter under her breath.

"Hey _Nox_ ," Misa addressed me once again, accentuating the name as if to spite Seraph, "You wanna go outside and do something?"

"... Noft rewlly," I responded with my mouth full.

"Come on! You're feeling better, aren'tcha? I wanna show you something!"

I swallowed and shot a short glance at Seraph. She looked at me apologetically.

I sighed. "Alright, fine… I'm still feeling a bit 'eh', but it's quick, right?"

"Sure!"

"Seraph?"

"It's okay for you two to go out into the courtyard…" she said thoughtfully, "Be careful, though… Misa, don't do anything rash, please."

"Right, sure, be careful and all that," Misa blew the larger dragon off before leaping off her barstool. "Hurry up shorty!"

I reluctantly left the rest of my Poffin on the counter and stood. While content I had time to stretch my stiff muscles and move around outside, I was particular about who I spent it with. Seraph outstretched her wing near the counter. I leaped onto it and scooted off so I would have an easier time hitting the ground. Thanking her with a quick gaze, I trotted off after Misa, who'd already made her way outside and into the courtyard.

"What's up?" I called afterwards as she slowed her pace to a walk, allowing me to catch up.

She seemed annoyed, most likely because I wasn't more disposed to ask about her day with Vulcan. The fact she'd spent time with him intrigued me, sure, but it was only natural she gravitated to the older member of her species.

It was already dusk, and I was glad to notice the buzz of excess energy arrive bit by bit. I shivered with first contact.

Leaving Misa behind, I went over and took a look at the pond. I could see a few water types below the surface, swimming about. I tried ignoring the sinking feeling in my stomach telling me to step away from the water. I hadn't exactly had much exposure with situations in which my hydrophobia became a factor, but I felt it nonetheless, a parasite I was unable to feel unless in specific scenarios nor dispose of. I forced myself to lay down and relax.

"You gonna tell me out here for?" I asked as a distraction to myself, turning back around.

She approached me and, copying me, sat down by the water with her legs crossed.

"I guess you're not gonna tell me what Drayden was talking about in front of all those humans earlier, huh?"

"Nope," I said, remembering the press conference Drayden had held.

"Well, can you at least tell me why they think you're dead?"

I was about to reply snarkily before turning towards her. She was _actually_ upset, and looking at me with wide, pleading eyes.

"I don't know if Drayden really thinks that…" I evaded guiltily, "He bends the truth a lot…"

She sincerely wanted to know out of interest. How was it possible to let curiosity carry someone this far? I wasn't ready to tell her everything, and doubted I ever would be. If it got her off my back for a while, though, I supposed I could tell her something.

"A lot of people think I did something really bad," I revealed, looking down at the water again. Fish Pokémon swam by lazily while I spoke, uncaring of my words. "But they don't know I'm me… So my friends covered for me. They said I died a few days before I met you."

She gave me a once-over, scrutinizing the validity of my statement.

"... You're not lying… How, though? You just hatched!"

I remained silent. She'd gotten more than enough information from me.

"Fine, fine, I get it… Whatever."

I could tell she was annoyed, but I appreciated the fact she accepted my silence.

I looked back in the water for a little while, appreciating the quiet.

"You said you wanted to show me something?" I proposed, lifting my head. I was worried she would start again with conversation about me.

"Nah, that was pretty much an excuse to get you out here… I'll say I can't do that move Vulcan taught me really good yet…"

"W-what?" I scoffed jokingly, "Is that humility I hear? Who are you and what'd you do with Misa?"

"Oh shaddup. I'm Misericors the dragon for Kyurem's sake! I'll get it down soon, for sure. Then you won't stand a chance."

"Misericors? What's that?"

"It's my name, stupid. What, you thought Misa wasn't a nickname?"

I looked back up at her, perplexed.

"No, I guess not… I thought dragons weren't supposed to share their names, though…"

"Eh, we're buds, right? Think of it as a reward for telling me some of your secret. I scratch your back you scratch mine. Something like that."

"Whatever… Misa's easier to say anyways."

"Tell anyone and I'll kill you," she threatened half-jokingly, "You're the only person that knows outside my family."

I narrowed my eyes ever so slightly. Why was she opening up to me like this? Was it a ploy to bring my guard down?

"Your family… What are they like?"

"I dunno… My mom and dad are really strong. The Alphas of my herd. My littermates were really strong too, but I was the best."

"Really?"

"Yep. My parents even chose me to go first for the Passage!"

"Huh… Mind telling me what that is?"

She looked at me like I was stupid for a moment before turning up to the sky.

"The Passage is a huuuuuge deal. It's when Axew are supposed to evolve into Fraxure, and my parents said I was strong enough to go early!"

I couldn't help myself from laughing openly.

"What's so funny? It's true!"

"How old did you say you were? Six months?"

"Yep!"

"Misa, it's impossible to evolve that early unless you're a superpowered bug type or something. Dragons have the latest evolutions of any 'mon, realistically speaking, especially in the wild. Axew, even while trained, take four years at the minimum to evolve. That number's way higher in the wild."

"The hell's that supposed to mean? My parents said I'm gonna be a Fraxure soon, and then I can go home!"

"Well, your parents were wr-Wait, what?"

"That's what my dad said when he took me up to the mountain I met you at for my Passage… I had to evolve before coming back home. It's the same for all Axew and their Passages."

"Misa, I don't think-"

"What would you know, anyways?! Jet understood it when I told _him_ about it, why don't you?"

"I… I guess I don't."

"Hell, what am I even doing here? It was fun being your master for a little while and everything, but I need to get back up there and train until I evolve like I was doing! That's the only way…"

"Misa, you're acting really weird."

"Oh, and you're not? I'm acting completely fine."

"Uhh… Maybe we should go back inside."

"No! I gotta show you the move, remember. I gotta practice it!"

"I don't think that's a good idea right now," I tried saying calmly, backing away from her ever so smoothly.

She'd sporadically switched back into a confident demeanor, in which she reversed a mature decision on her part in the matter of a heartbeat.

The dragon started mumbling something to herself, as if a personal mantra. I was afraid something I'd done caused it. I actually found myself somewhat worried. She was acting much more odd than usual.

She stood and began pacing behind me, still repeating her mantra.

I considered going to get Seraph. Was the small dragon having a breakdown?

"God, they're gonna kill me!"

She was breathing heavily.

"No no no no I left the mountain! I had to stay _up there_! Why'd you guys drag me down here! I need to be there!"

"Misa, calm down. We'll figure somethi-"

"Shut up, Ray, just shut up!"

I didn't know what to do with any certainty. I let my panicked thoughts carry my words.

"This is probably good… I mean, you got Vulcan here to teach you how to be good at fighting, and uhh…"

She stopped pacing and instead stood still, shaking.

"And uhh… I mean, isn't the whole point of an adventure to not know what's gonna happen next? Would be a pretty boring adventure if you stayed in one spot, right?"

She let her eyes rest on me as he breathing eased ever so slightly.

"Either way, if you want, I'm sure Drayden'll take you back. I don't know, but we can talk about it more later. You'll be fine, I promise."

…

"You going to calm down now?"

She seemingly slipped back into character, as she rolled her eyes obnoxiously.

"Watch. Anyday, my parents are gonna figure out I'm not on the mountain and come to kill me. Who's gonna protect us, you?"

"Misa, Drayden's team is one of the best in the world. I bet Vulcan alone could beat both of your parents combined."

"Pfft… We'll see."

I turned back out towards the water, still feeling on edge regarding her outburst. She sighed and sat next to me, dipping her feet in below the surface and carelessly scaring away all the fish.

"Vulcan told me the human machine thingy said that I wasn't ready to evolve yet for a while, exactly like you said… I don't get it. Why can't I evolve right now?"

"Sometimes it just doesn't work like that," I said, hoping to give the Axew the lightest and most brief answer possible. "I think your parents were wrong about letting you on your Passage, Misa… It almost sounds like they-"

A few seconds of silence passed. A light clicked on in my head. An Axew, hardly hatched, a runt to top it off, left alone on a freezing mountaintop. My stomach dropped.

"They what?"

 _They abandoned her. She's the runt of the litter! So her parents left her on that mountain to die and played it off like it was a ritual of some sorts. She doesn't even know! Bastards!_

"They what?" she reiterated.

"They, uhh… It almost sounds like they wanted you to get stronger than any Axew that ever lived."

"What are you talking about?"

"Think about it. That mountain was the last place a dragon wants to be, especially with the cold. So, I bet they thought if you trained up there for however long a time you needed until you evolved, you'd be unstoppable."

I didn't want to give the Axew the bomb that her family had simply left her to die. Despite the clarity of the situation in my mind, I didn't want to have to be the undertaker of her aspiration to grow stronger. A piece fit into place. Her screen of confidence; this is why she wore it.

"Huh… That's nice to think about. They were really looking out for me, huh?"

"Maybe, who knows?"

She smiled. I forced a reassuring demeanor and shot a smile back at her.

"Oh!" she yelled, hopping up and grabbing me by the scruff. Consequently, I yipped for a moment as I was dragged to my paws. "You know a ton of stuff about humans, right?! I found something earlier, and I thought you could help me figure out what it meant!"

"O-okay," I said, glad to be rid of the previous conversation.

"Come on!" she yelled excitedly, beginning to run back towards Drayden's residence. Rolling my eyes and genuinely smiling in contentment for the first time in days, I trotted carefully after her.

We raced past Seraph, who gave us a passing glance as we caused quite the commotion. Seeing I was getting along with my adversary, however, she sent me a reassuring glance. I gave the best shrug I could as I passed the dragon.

We rounded a few corners and traversed a few hallways before we came to the outside of a single room. By the time I'd caught up with the Axew, she was already jumping up for the doorknob. She caught it once, and congratulated herself quietly as the door clicked open.

Inside was a rather dark, yet rather neat room I hadn't yet seen. I asked Misa what we were here for. Remaining silent, she jogged forward and towards a desk in the corner. She took a moment to think before selecting a droor, grabbing a hold on the handle, and pulling it out.

"Aha!" she cheered, rebounding towards me with a white slip of paper in her hand. Curious, I gave it a preliminary inspection as she placed it on the ground and tried smoothing it out.

"Vulcan tried hiding this earlier when I was with Vulcan in Drayden's room, but it looks like it has human writing on it. Can you tell me what it says?"

"Why?"

"Because! You just gave me this whole speech about 'adventure' and all that crap, and I thought it was interesting!"

 _Probably just a bill or something._

Rolling my eyes slightly, I stepped forwards as the Axew attempted to flatten out the creases in the white sheet. Identifying the black ink, I read through the neat cursive for a few lines before I stopped.

"What is it?"

"Gimme a sec."

I read back through the first lines, digesting what I saw as I went.

"Misa, we really shouldn't be seeing this."

"Even better! Just hurry up and we can put it back where we found it! Nobody will know."

I sent a timid look at the pressuring Axew for a moment, but capitulated under her hopeful stare. I gulped and began reading aloud.

* * *

 _Drayden,_

 _In light of recent events, I have personally taken control over the Alston investigation during your leave. To be blunt, I have denied your request to head the operation and instead will spearhead the league's interest in the matter, in cooperation with the Unovan Government._

 _This has become much more than a matter of the league's integrity, but a matter of global security, and I'm in full knowledge of the existence of information you've been keeping from me, and, as a result, the league. You are to halt your own personal investigation and leave the matter of dealing with this international terrorist to me. You've seen the CCTV footage of the boy using an impossible power for humans, yet you've let your own feelings flood the matter._

 _Alston can be anywhere in the world, but you can be assured the first place I'd check for such a threat is under our own noses. I hate to be curt, but I'm going to put it simply._

 _You will arrive back at your Gym and read this letter, placed inconspicuously on your own bed. After reading this letter, you will grasp fully the implications of your trying to leave your Gym. Any attempts at escape will be thwarted by league officials surely surrounding the complex by the time you've read this, by whom you will be apprehended and tried on charges of Aiding and Abetting. Your team will be confiscated, and I will personally advocate for your imprisonment for the rest of your life._

 _I don't appreciate your secrecy against me, and especially against the league. If Ray Alston is found in your complex when I arrive in a few days' time, be ensured I will utilize every extent of my power possible to ensure you are sentenced with him._

 _I hope you'll be cordial in accepting me on the Fourteenth of October. I hope to speak more comprehensively with you then._

 _Your Champion and TRUE superior,_

 _Alder_

* * *

"International terrorist, huh?"

"Misa… Please, don't make me talk about it. It's such a long story, and I doubt you'd believe it."

"Come on, Nox! Please?"

I took a moment to grab the paper in my mouth and push through Drayden's cracked bedroom door, crossed the dim area to the desk, and hopped into the nearby chair. Carefully, I dropped the paper back into the droor and closed it shut.

"Nox?"

"Misa, this is really, really bad."

I sat down in the dark room for a bit and thought to myself. Misa was the only ally I had. My team wasn't an option; communicating with them was too difficult with Mew alone. It would be incredibly useful to have an informed friend on the inside.

 _Friend? I hate her, right?_

"Nox…"

"My name is Ray. I don't like being called Nox." I said quietly.

"You… You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. It's hard, I get it."

"Misa, it's not that… I don't think I have to say we tell _no one_ we saw that note."

"O-ok…"

"Follow me."

I hopped off the chair and began walking with purpose back down the hallway in which we'd come. Instead of moving in the direction of the kitchen, however, I turned to the left and towards Misa's and my own room.

"You gonna explain a bit?"

"Just… Get inside."

Misa led the way into the room and was the first to hop onto the bed. I took a second to compose myself, close the door, and subconsciously divert energy from my core into my legs. They had been wobbling beneath me, and would have continued to do so on the way to the bed if not for my interference.

"Alright, here's the deal. My threats about having Somin tear you limb from limb if you tell anyone about any of this still apply."

She sent me an amused glare through the dimness.

"Whatever. Here's the deal."

I took a moment to leap on the bed and sit myself down where I could stare at the Axew directly.

"Alder is a human with one of the top five strongest teams in the world. And when I say that, I mean it. Remember when we were on the train leaving Timberline, and we saw all those people in that city? Imagine if _all_ of them had teams of six Pokémon each, and add on millions and millions more. He's better than _ALL_ of them, Misa. Imagine the strongest Pokémon for a thousand miles, and he has six of them."

The Axew's face had been growing more progressively in awe of the situation.

"Wow," she said simply, "But, he's a bad guy?"

"Yes. Maybe? I have no idea. Drayden might be the bad guy right now, and in that case, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, I guess? They might both be bad guys, and both good guys. We have no idea."

"Drayden's not a bad guy."

"That's what he wants you to think, Misa. We can't trust him."

"I asked him, though, and he said he wasn't a bad guy."

I took a second to shake my head. My patience for the Axew's lack of knowledge of basic aspects of human life was growing, meaning I had less of an exasperated reaction.

"I think you're mistaken, Misa. Humans can't understand Pokémon, remember?"

"Whaddaya mean? Drayden talked to me just fine, and heard me okay. I've seen him talking to Seraph and Skipp and Vulcan and Crag, too, apart from each other. Y'know, like a closed-door type talk. He understood them just fine."

"What are you talking about?"

"Just after you woke up like a week ago was one time. Skipp and I left you and Seraph in that room alone, while Vulcan and Drayden went and talked to the weird dude who lives in the basement. Things were getting boring with Skipp, so I snuck away an-"

"Weird dude?! You've seen Vicus!"

"Nah, just heard Drayden and Vulcan talking about it after. But, Drayden talked to me himself earlier that day, too, so I don't know what you're talking about. We talked for a bit about stupid stuff."

 _I remember being told that Drayden's spent his entire life around dragons. Maybe he's just really good at guessing what they say? I used to do that a lot before Somin got a really good grip on his illusions._

 _Just another thing to keep asking about, though._

"Don't trust him. Just… He may seem like a good guy, but don't trust him. Don't trust Seraph, or Skipp, or Vulcan too. Nobody."

"I should trust you, then, over all them then? Vulcan's awesome, and Drayden's pretty cool too!"

"Misa please. You gotta believe me when I say they're bad news."

"Whatever, I'll figure it out. Don't know how you want me to trust you when you don't even tell me a stupid secret."

"About that…"

The reason I'd been so nervous earlier came back to mind. My throat went dry.

"Misa, that secret is a _really_ big deal for me. I haven't told anyone ever before about it."

"I thought you and I were okay, though."

Hearing the Axew say it for herself quite shocked me. I was quick to recover, but kept the notion in the back of my mind.

"We are, Misa, and I need someone to trust right now, which is why…"

I swallowed again. My dry mouth certainly didn't want me to tell her.

 _Last chance to back out. There's so many reasons not to tell her. Are you going to do it?_

"My friends don't want me to tell. My mind says it's a bad idea to tell, but believe me, Misa. _I_ want to tell. I've had this stupid thing hanging over my shoulders forever, and I want nothing more than to get rid of it."

"Dude, if it's making you all weird and gushy, then don't even bother. I don't really even care that much anymore."

"Y-you what? Just this morning you were so angry at me about it!"

"Vulcan gave me some advice too, I guess. You can say Vulcan's helped out a lot more than Skipp's."

"What's that, then?"

She smirked devilishly at me.

"It's a _secret_. Dragons only, pipsqueak."

"Huh… Y'know how left out I feel here with all the dragons around? Even Drayden seems more like a dragon than a human sometimes."

Misa started snorting in response. I joined in her laughter for a moment.

"Alright," I said, steering myself back on track. "It looks like we're gonna have our hands full over the next few days, so I'm gonna be straight with you."

"Hmm?"

I explained slowly, hoping the Axew wouldn't take what I was to say for face value. "I talk with one of my friends, in my sleep, every night. Has she introduced herself to you yet?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I take that as a 'no' then. Well, her name's Mew, and I'm gonna introduce you to her tonight."

She sent me a condescending glance as if she didn't believe me.

"Trust me… If she says I'm okay, I… I'm going to tell you my secret, tonight."

Misa perked up, staring at me with wide eyes.

"Please though, take this seriously when it happens, Misa. Everything's only getting worse, and if I'm being completely honest, you're the only person I'm even halfway sure I can trust right now. Can I?"

Misa gulped and nodded quickly. She seemed to gather the implication of my words.

"Thanks," I said, closing my eyes and confirming with myself the appointment I'd just made. There really was no backing out. "I'll see you tonight."

* * *

"Nox, you're acting differently. You seemed rather… Complacent, earlier, with Misa. Did you two magically start getting along while I was recovering?"

"Maybe a little," I mumbled through the mouthful of leftover Poffin I was chewing. The pasty was quite gigantic for a creature of my size.

"Has she stopped bothering you, then?"

I swallowed so I could speak more clearly.

"She's been getting a bit better, but I think a lot of it is me not giving as much weight to what she says anymore."

I sent the Axew a glance. She seemed affixed once again on trying to turn the television on across the room.

"But, Seraph… I think there's something wrong with her."

"What do you mean?"

"I was able to figure out why she was in the mountains when I met her…"

Seraph narrowed her eyes for a moment and sighed. "I already know, dear. Vulcan told me earlier, and I suppose you both came to the same conclusion."

I nodded. There was no way a creature as insightful as the Haxorus would let the obvious clues fly over his head and give a false assumption.

"It's best not to mention it to her, and I don't think I have to tell you this conversation is to remain between us only. I know this might be hard to understand, but we want her to feel safe and loved right now, because we're not going to let her return to the mountain when this situation rectifies itself."

"What are you gonna do with her, then?"

"Well, that's up for debate. Vulcan has proposed the idea of Drayden adopting her and raising her as an apprentice of the team. To be honest, I'd quite like that. I'd absolutely love to see her rough edges smooth out with age, and she seems like she's going to be quite a force to be reckoned with when she grows."

I swallowed the rest of the Poffin remaining and stood from where I sat, wordless. I sent Misa a forlorn glance, one she didn't even notice with her fixation on getting the television to work.

"Now, eat your Sitrus slice, Nox. We want you to feel better, don't we? And, if you eat it too late, you're going to be bouncing off the walls all night."

I nodded as the dragon pushed the small slice of fruit in my direction.

"Now, would you like to sleep with Skipp and I again tonight? You must have already noticed, but I'm feeling much better now."

"That's alright," I said absentmindedly. With the conversations yet to come with the Axew, seeing now I was choosing to place feeble trust in her, being alone would prove beneficial. "I've kinda already gotten used to Misa, I guess."

"Well then, you really have changed, haven't you?"

"I dunno… I feel the same, I guess."

"I'm glad to see you're getting used to life now, however. I really am pr-Skyla!"

Seraph squawked surprisedly as she whipped her head towards one of the nearby hallways. I turned my own gaze expectantly to watch the human as she approached.

"I… I need some fresh air," Skyla said hastily, pushing past Seraph and entering the kitchen. I sent both of them an apprehensive glance.

"Misa," Seraph hissed as the human passed. "Drayden is in his study. Bang on the door a few times and he should answer. Tell him Skyla is in the courtyard."

The Axew had since stopped messing with the remote and was watching the human pass with an indifferent gaze. Upon the Altaria's request, however, she shifted that indifferent gaze towards the larger dragon.

"Please," the Altaria reiterated. She began taking steps after Skyla and into the kitchen. , deciding to follow, slowly scooted off the counter, landed on one of the nearby stools, and used my forward momentum to slide off and land on the ground. Misa had since hopped off the couch and began walking lazily down one of the corridors. I wasn't even sure it was the one leading to the locked door of Drayden's study.

I pushed through the door as Seraph exited the residential area of the complex. As she suspected, Skyla had stopped and was now sitting on one of the benches in the scenic area. She looked at the evening sky with a sad sense of contemplation.

"Skyla?"

Seraph tried approaching, but stopped when the Gym Leader snapped at her.

"I'm not a freak like your trainer, Altaria. I can't tell what you're saying to me."

Seraph took a step away, taken aback by the sudden outburst. Skyla tensed for a moment and shot straight up as if the implications of what she'd said just crossed her mind.

"I didn't mean it!"

Seraph resolved to look at the human with a condescending glare. The Mistralton Gym Leader averted her gaze towards the ground and ran a hand through her reddish-brown hair.

"I feel like I'm the one who knows least about what's going on, when I knew Ray better than anyone. I'm just frustrated, Altaria. Just… Take what I say with a grain of salt."

I could feel the red-hot flame of guilt reignite within me.

Skyla raised her head back up, exhaling curtly and attempting to readjust her hair back to behind her shoulders. It seemed, however, she noticed me standing behind Seraph for the first time.

"Oh, hello Nox."

Seraph seemingly didn't notice my presence either, considering she turned around and stared at me with much the same glare she sent Skyla, as if my intrusion was at the least opportune time possible.

I forced a smile on my face, choosing to act clueless regarding the gravity of the human's emotions. It's what a kit would have done.

"C'mere."

I initially hesitated at the command. Skyla had no clue regarding my transgressions against her. It would make me feel horrible to act as if I hadn't done anything.

However, on the other hand, I wanted her to feel better. She'd done so much for me, as an aunt, as a Gym Leader. Hanging my head slightly, I stepped forward and begin walking towards Skyla, despite Seraph's apparent rejection of the idea.

I'd kept myself from seeing the Gym Leader long enough. She was the only human family I had left, and I'd treated her like dirt. I inadvertently let more of Ray's newfound desire to make amends influence my decision-making.

The realization brought with it the knowledge I was making distinctions between my human self and my Zorua self. Perhaps I truly was becoming acclimated to a new body and lifestyle, but such a change wasn't without memories and their repercussions. Memories of how blind I'd been, even just a few weeks prior, to Skyla's attempts to help.

I knew now my blaming of Skyla for Sierra's death was a paranoid repercussion of the turmoil my mind was sent into following the murder itself. The Gym Leader had simply suggested I visit my old home and see my parents while I was vacationing only a city away.

I'd had a lot of downtime to think about how I felt regarding Skyla, and if my dreams on the night we were captured were useful for anything, it was the fact I was now able to look past my prior bias and see Skyla for the innocent human who'd tried her hardest.

Not much unlike a certain legendary I'd only recently forgiven. Perhaps it was time I did the same for the Gym Leader before me.

So, I advanced, hopped onto the bench next to her, laid my head on her thigh and let her run her fingers through my fur. She found consolation through my connection to Ray, even if she didn't know I myself was the human she so desperately wanted to see unharmed.

That human was dead now, however. Did she still harbor hope for his wellbeing despite being told of his demise by multiple credible sources?

I sighed, letting my eyes close and a calm expression form on my face.

 _I missed you, Skyla._


	19. To Move On

**l**

 **Chapter XVIII - To Move On**

* * *

 _The boy adjusted the tight collar around his neck in discomfort. The dress shirt and tie combo was much too tight for his liking._

" _Sit still, Grayson," the young boy's father scolded. "Now, we need you to be on your best behavior. Don't touch anything."_

 _The young boy nodded in defeat and dejectedly popped open the car door. His mother exited the vehicle as his father paid the fare to the rented driver. He'd gone out of his way to reserve a ride from a professional company rather than use a taxi service. He was, after all, a man of great taste._

" _Best behavior," his mother mouthed in repetition. The boy nodded exasperatedly, working again to try and fix his tie to make sure it wasn't choking him._

 _The airplane ride had been bad enough wearing it, but now he was no longer in the air-conditioned cabin. Mistralton was a humid city, certainly, and he certainly wasn't looking forward to staying an entire week and a half._

 _He took a moment to mull over the large Gym complex. The facility was officially closed as of right then, but faculty members went about in preparation for the celebration. A stage was being built for the commencement the following day, while dozens of others worked on the gardens outside to make sure they were in pristine condition. Others were painting the pink and blue structure with the greatest precision possible._

" _Why're we even here?" the boy complained in the heat._

" _We're supporting your aunt Skyla, so we're not going to complain."_

" _But for wha-"_

" _Shhhshh," she snapped. The boy was quick to fall back into line._

" _Anna!"_

 _Both heads turned as a lean, young figure stepped out of the Gym's main doors and began sprinting in their direction._

" _What is she wearing?" the mother spoke from the corner of her mouth as she approached her husband from behind. Skyla was rapidly approaching, her lean stomach fully shown in what could only be guessed to be her Gym uniform._

 _However, in contrast to her disdain, the boy's mother put on a show of affection and forced a smile. "Mikayla, it's so good to see you!"_

 _She let out a surprised 'oof' as the younger girl, crimson red hair swinging about haphazardly, brought her in for a tight hug._

" _Oh Arceus, it's so good to see you! But it's not Mikayla anymore! Nope, I'm Skyla now."_

" _Skyla… That's an… Interesting name."_

" _The league had me actually change it," she giggled. "A bit more fitting for a Gym Leader, and I love it."_

" _Well, then… We're all so, so proud… Skyla…"_

" _But look at you! Wow! Jeffrey, it's always great to see you too! And look at little Grayson here! I haven't seen you since you were a baby!"_

" _Ray," the boy muttered under his breath. Thankfully, nobody had heard him. His parents had scolded him in the past over his use of the nickname._

" _Here, come in, come in. The Gym is my home now, and standing out here is useless!"_

 _Skyla excitedly assisted Jeffrey in grabbing a few of the bags. Meanwhile, Grayson's mother pulled him ahead of the group and towards the front door, as if to get him away from the situation._

 _The day went by uneventfully, mostly in the living room of the Gym's residential area as either side shared stories. Skyla was the one speaking most often, giving a basic narrative of her time as a trainer before participating in the city-wide election to choose a new Gym Leader._

 _Being one of the only eligible eight-badge trainers for the role, she already boasted a monotyped team she'd trained throughout her ten years as a trainer. Also, what better type of team to take over the Mistralton Gym than a flying-type team? The previous Leader had a Dark team, despite the city's main source of income stemming from their airport, the world's largest. Her bubbly personality and qualifications for the role led to a landslide election in which she was selected as one of the youngest Gym Leaders in history._

 _The commencement ceremony was scheduled for the next day, prompting Skyla's limited amount of family to travel and see her._

 _That night, the boy could hear his parents bickering as he pretended to be asleep across the room._

" _She's out of control," his mother said in disdain. "This lifestyle has completely ruined her."_

" _Don't act like this isn't what we expected. They're disgusting creatures, honestly. Useful as pack animals, sure, but this. She's completely ditched everything she had in order to walk across the country with beasts. The fact that we're related to her!"_

" _It's my fault… She's my little sister, and I didn't know to teach her to know better before it was too late."_

" _The best thing we can do is to try and not make the same mistake with Grayson. We stay here for the weekend, then never talk to her again. You can do that, can't you?"_

 _The boy's mother sighed. "Of course, dear…"_

 _Grayson didn't know what to make of the conversation. From what he observed, Skyla had been nothing but nice to him and his parents. Why did they loathe her so much?_

 _The next day was busy, certainly. Skyla had greeted her small family of relatives with a large breakfast before giving them a full tour of the facility. She detailed she'd forgotten to show them around the complex in the excitement of seeing them the previous night._

 _The boy found himself engrossed when they arrived in the training area of the Gym. It was vacant, as was the rest of the complex, but he could see the workout equipment left unused. He felt a faint sense of intimidation, and imagined the room filled to the brim with monsters of every kind._

" _Do you like Pokémon, Grayson?"_

 _The boy shrugged his shoulders in indecision as his mother intervened._

" _No, no… Never has really been of interest to him."_

 _Skyla's smile faded ever so slightly._

" _That's alright! I bet you'd love them if you got to know them, though… Maybe another time."_

 _The boy's parents sent one another uncertain glances, yet the boy found himself slightly intrigued. He'd tended to ignore his friends' adamancy about getting their very own Pokémon when they were to turn ten in three years' time._

 _The boy never shared the same drive. Of course, it was interesting to watch a battle every so often, but the Pokémon looked like they were getting hurt fighting while fighting one another. He'd been kept as far away from them as possible, anyways. He was quite scared of them, honestly, if they were as frightening as his parents had detailed them to be._

 _The commencement ceremony occurred a couple of hours later without a hitch. The boy, feeling some interest in the nature of Pokémon as a result of the earlier conversation, ditched his parents after Skyla had been officially declared the Gym Leader of Mistralton._

 _He was soon to find his aunt, wading through the crowd and accepting handshakes._

" _Grayson!" she called as she noticed the young boy swerving in and out of people in the crowd. She approached and bent over so she could speak to him on his level._

" _What, you got lost?"_

 _The boy shook his head._

 _Skyla looked around with a glance of mock caution._

" _Hey, follow me. I got somethin' to show ya."_

 _She took his hand and began running through the crowd, ignoring the passersby who wished her well with the future of the Gym._

 _Skyla led the boy out of the crowd and back into the front doors of the Gym. The guards on duty let them by without so much as a word. They ran through the empty lobby and through a wide set of sliding-glass doors. The boy stopped in awe at the scene before him._

 _It was a simple battlefield, equipped with empty stands to the right of where he now stood._

" _You ever seen a Pokémon battle before?"_

" _Well, uh… Nope," he said quietly, looking away. "On TV a few times, but mommy and daddy didn't like me watching that kinda stuff."_

" _Now why's that?"_

 _He shrugged._

" _Okay then… C'mere."_

 _The boy approached his aunt as she unclipped an item from her belt and placed it in his outstretched palm._

 _It was a simple, red-and-white Pokéball. It was the first time the boy had ever held such an item. From what he knew, there was a living creature inside such a small space, right in his hand! He let his mouth drop._

 _Excitedly, Skyla crouched and grabbed onto the boy's shoulders from behind. Lowering her voice to a tone of mock-seriousness, she told him what to do._

" _You're the trainer now, alright? These Pokémon, they're what you battle other trainers with for glory, but it's so much more than that! You're friends with your teammates, and you help each other. No trainer is anything without their Pokémon beside them, and many Pokémon don't know how to fight without a coach to guide them."_

 _The boy could slowly feel himself getting excited. He felt like he had so much power, holding the ball Skyla had given him._

 _He paused for a moment, however, and stepped back._

" _They hurt each other, though… I don't like that."_

 _Skyla took a moment to absorb his concern before laughing openly. Grayson was taken aback for a moment._

" _No, no, that's not it at all! A good trainer knows their Pokémon's limits and when to stop. And besides! It's like humans boxing! The Pokémon that fight love doing it, and the Pokémon that don't shouldn't have to."_

 _Grayson was confused. The Pokémon liked fighting?_

" _Now, imagine you're getting ready to battle. This is a really important battle, too, and your Pokémon are pumped and ready to go! Whenever you're ready, go ahead and send out your first one!"_

 _The boy paused for a moment. What if his parents were to come in and see him? They wouldn't be happy, certainly, but Skyla was his aunt. He was supposed to listen to her._

 _So, he followed directions, gasping in awe as the ball seemingly exploded in the air with a brilliant shine after he threw it. As the light faded, he realized that in its place, a large creature was hovering in the air with wings as large as he! It was magnificent!_

" _You wanna battle with me?" Skyla proposed, stepping up beside the child._

" _W-what?"_

" _I'm a Gym Leader now, which means in order to get stronger, you have to battle people like me to earn badges. You're gonna get a head start on all your friends by fighting me. I'll even give you a Gym Badge if you beat me. How does that sound?"_

 _The boy gulped in anticipation before nodding quickly._

" _Alright! Do you know what species that is?"_

 _He shook his head quietly._

" _That's Terry. He's what's called an Unfezant, and a really strong one at that."_

 _The boy nodded, clenching his fist as his confidence grew. An Unfezant. Skyla said he was really strong. How could he lose?_

" _If you have an Unfezant, then I have a tough battle ahead of me… I think I'll choose…"_

 _Skyla reached down to her belt once more and plucked another ball. This time, she threw it, the white light materializing into another bird. This one was much more stocky, sporting black feathers over pink skin._

" _Delilah the Mandibuzz. A scary one, that's for sure. You can beat her though, right?"_

 _The battle, ironically Skyla's first as a Gym Leader, was soon to commence. Skyla gave the boy a short talk about what moves Terry the Unfezant knew. Moves he could use to overwhelm his opponent and become victorious._

 _The 'battle', if one could even call it that, was a slaughter in favor of Grayson. Despite shouting only the two moves he remembered at random intervals, he'd prevailed! After one, last Wing Attack, Delilah fell, fainted._

 _Skyla, amused by the situation and thankful for the act her two teammates had helped her arrange, returned the acting Mandibuzz and instructed Grayson on how to retrieve the Unfezant._

 _That day, a new world was opened in Grayson's eyes. He met multitudes of Pokémon of all different types before his parents found him. Gym Leaders from all over Unova were present, and he was disappointed, to say the least, when they respectfully declined his challenge to battle them all after Skyla had introduced him._

 _Yet, he learned the names of many different species that day as well. From the silly Vanilluxe to the scary Hydreigon. He learned the names of many Gym Leaders as well, all of whom he would eventually defeat in combat._

 _That night, with the victorious Terry released from his ball, Skyla came to tuck him in. It was then she rewarded him with her Badge, a legitimate one, for his efforts and success in defeating her earlier that day._

" _You like being called Ray, right?"_

 _Grayson's eyes lit up. "How did yo-"_

" _I heard you earlier… And, to be honest, I don't care what your parents say. I think it's a great name."_

 _Grayson beamed, smiling as Skyla stood up and exited the room._

 _He couldn't sleep that night, to say the least. His parents were out with Skyla, enjoying dinner at a restaurant for grown-ups. Breaking his bedtime rule, he excitedly turned on the TV and began watching Pokémon-related programs. There was so much to learn after all, and the experience had been exhilarating._

 _It was an entirely new world to the boy, one he had not known even existed twenty-four hours before. A world he was determined to leave his mark upon._

 _And so it began. It was on that night he commenced in counting down the days before his tenth birthday. Convincing his parents would be a feat in itself, but he was determined._

 _He would one day become the greatest trainer to ever live._

* * *

I eventually fell asleep on Skyla's lap despite the cooling air outside. It was dusk by the time I'd let myself go under, in quite a serene setting despite the chaos over the past few days.

Now, though, it was time. I was asleep, and that meant only one thing was coming.

"Mew. I need to talk to you."

I hadn't spawned in a single instant into the void I knew to be my mind. Rather, I simply became aware, as if I'd already been in the position I now found myself in for hours.

"That was fast. Thought I'd have you already in Somin's dreams by the time you figured out where you were."

The legendary popped into existence in front of me, bobbing up and down in the air lazily. I hated to ruin her lackadaisical manner, but words needed to be exchanged.

"I can't see Somin tonight."

"Aw, c'mon Ray. I know you and him are fighting, but-"

"Mew, this isn't about some stupid argument. We're in gigantic trouble, and I don't want Somin here to weigh on my conscience. He's not the best decision maker in the world."

She was quick to close her eyes frustratedly.

"What did you see?"

"Alder's coming. Alder, the _champion_ Alder. I read a letter he sent to Drayden, and he was pissed, Mew. Pissed that Drayden was 'helping' me."

The feline let this sit in her head for a moment.

"Mind imagining someplace, y'know, less dark? I can't think."

I simply nodded my head after absorbing the command. The last time I'd tried this ended in failure.

"You want me to get Vita in here? She's good with this kind of stuff, isn't she?"

"Sure, fine. Look, I don't care about Somin doing much if everyone's here. Are you able to do that?"

"Probably not. Three max is all I can manage right now. So you get one choice outside Vita, if any."

I thought for a moment.

 _I still need to get Misa in here. I need to keep a slot open. Would Vita really be the best at this?_

"Scratch that. I need you to bring someone else in here with us later, someone who can help. Get Victor. He's the best when it comes to rough decisions like this."

"Aye aye, captain," Mew saluted sarcastically before tumbling in the air. I rolled my eyes and got back to concentrating on scenery.

The courtyard in Drayden's Gym was the first place to come to mind. Dusk, when I'd fallen asleep. The sky had lit up in an amazingly orange color as the sun began its hiding behind the rolling hills leading to the faraway Twist Mountain Range. The air was crisp, cool, the kind that bit at my nose and made me want to pull the hood of a sweatshirt over my head. The soft gurgle of the mini waterfall as it connected with the pond of fish below. The gray stepping stones scattered amongst the neatly-trimmed, luscious grass, and separate from the concrete trail of similar hue. Lastly, the wooden benches, smoothed over by age to be void of splinters and cracks.

"Damn, nice job."

I opened my eyes. I hadn't even concentrated on recreating the landscape, yet here it was before me. I supposed imagining it was more than enough, leading me to question why it hadn't worked when I tried it before. Perhaps my ability, however limited, to conjure visual illusions had helped in that regard?

"Almost done, and just to say it, you look really nice, you know that?"

Curious as to what she meant, I looked down at myself and stared for a moment in silence, pondering what was wrong. It was my normal Zorua body, that I'd apparently grown entirel-

"GAH!" I screamed, hopping back. As soon as I began thinking of the prospect I was no longer human, even within my own mind, my form fizzled out of existence, black fur replaced with tanned skin as my perspective grew in height.

"The hell was that!" I spewed angrily. "Why wasn't I human?!"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"No! I felt completely nor-... Completely normal."

"Exactly. You startin' to get used to being a Zorua?"

"No! I just… I stopped thinking about it for a bit. That has to be it."

"Well, your consciousness just automatically popped up as a Zorua. Think that says a lot about how much better you're adjusting, huh?"

"Mew, cut it out! I hate this body, I really do!"

"Doesn't matter if you hate it, silly. Only matters if you start seeing yourself as a Zorua without having to think about it. One time, I lost a bet and had to be a Weedle for a few years. No matter how much I didn't like it, I got so used to that body that by the time I reverted back, it took _forever_ for me to get used to being good 'ol me again."

"Right… Whatever, just… Forget it. Where's Victor?"

"Not asleep yet. Can't drag him here while he's still awake. No power in ball, remember?"

"Do we wait for him, then, or…?"

"You said you wanted me to see someone else tonight? Who?"

"The Axew," I said straight up, prompting Mew to flinch.

"Yeah… About her…"

"What?"

She scratched the back of her head guiltily. I rolled my eyes.

"Is it because you didn't go to tell her off like I asked?"

"No!... Maybe…"

"Don't worry about it. We worked things out, and this is about something else."

"Ray, she doesn't sleep."

"What?"

"I haven't seen her sleep once since I've been here. Even if she's kinda sleeping, her mind's waaaaay too active to wrangle her in here."

"Nightmares, then?"

"Like, really bad nightmares if she's actually asleep. You got any idea what her deal is?"

"Maybe… Okay, while we wait for Vic, then, I got something important to ask you.

"What's that?" Mew responded, floating towards me with a tilted head. I motioned my head over to one of the benches and had the legendary follow me as I sat. She laid her torso over my right shoulder, letting her hind paws drape over my back carelessly.

I looked towards the orange sky, caught forever in its brilliance within my mind.

"I have no idea who to trust, Mew. On the outside, it's all so confusing. Drayden's been giving me major red flags, but he's spoken out for me. Skyla I can probably trust, but I can't bring myself to tell her anything. And even then, Alder, who's obviously against Drayden here. If Drayden's bad then Alder's good, but Alder sounds like he _hates_ me."

"Where're you going with this?"

"I need someone to talk to, Mew. Someone I can trust."

"What's wrong with me, then?" she asked innocently. I could hear a bit of mock offense seep into her voice, as if she were jealous.

"Nothing, Mew, but we only get to talk to each other for so long, and with a ton of limits. I… I've reached out to Misa."

"The Axew? I thought you hated her."

"Well, yeah. She's big-headed and _really_ egotistical, but she's sincere, and I know why she has a confidence complex now. Her parents abandoned her before we got to Twist, Mew. If nothing else, she's got no opinion towards anything happening, and doesn't have enough information to make her own conclusions."

"You two made friends, then."

"No. We're not friends."

"Oh ho," Mew laughed sarcastically, "mind telling me what you are, then?"

"Acquaintances, accomplices, whatever. It doesn't matter what she is to me, it just matters that I think we can trust her. I want to tell her I'm a human."

After I finished speaking, Mew mulled over the idea for a few moments.

"Is there a point? From what you've told me she sounds pretty hard-headed. I don't think she'll take you seriously."

"I'll show her proof, then, it doesn't matter. The important thing is that I wanted your input on it. I really feel like I need to get this whole thing off my chest, and I could really use someone to help me out when the time comes to break out. If you still haven't noticed, I got no idea how to fight or do anything."

"It's not like you'll not fighting the dragons when the time comes. Simple as that. I doubt even Somin could take them on if they actually tried. Think our best bet is to run at the first chance we get."

"What if we get separated, then? What happens?"

"I track you and come pick you up. Nothing stopping me from lifting you up and flying you wherever you need to go, even if I can't teleport you."

"You're missing the point, Mew."

"Ray, do whatever you want," Mew said indifferently, shrugging her shoulders. "We'll make plans with Victor including and not including the Axew, and see what he says works for the rest of your team. Sound good?"

"Fine, fine. There's other things we need to talk about, though."

"Like what?"

"Vicus, mainly… Also Drayden. Misa says he can understand her, like she's not a Pokémon."

"That's… Weird?"

"I know! I mean, she could just be mistaken, but there's been so much stuff going on that I have no clue what to think about it. Do you think it has something to do with whoever Vicus is?"

"Ray, I got no clue, honest. I've started losing awareness of where I am, to be honest. It's like, I've not moved for so long that I stopped seeing things. I don't even know if Vicus is with me anymore, to be honest, and even if he was, I don't know what I can do. He leaves the room whenever someone comes to visit, so I don't even hear anything to boot."

"Well, uh… What do we do, then?"

"You're the only one that can do anything right now. Keep pressing, see if you can find out who this guy is. To escape, one thing needs to happen. I need to be released"

"How do I do that? If Vicus is next to you all the time, then-"

"Doesn't matter. Explore the complex a bit, and see what you find. I'll always be here, and as long as they don't know you're you, what are they gonna do if they find you?"

Mew was right. I would be scolded, and even punished, certainly, but in the end, I was a hatchling. None of my actions would have major repercussions as long as I remained that way in their eyes.

"Hey, someone's waking you up."

"Huh?"

"You're fading… Ray? You hear me?"

"Mew?"

I looked down at myself. My form was fizzling out of existence. Slowly but surely, the scenery around me crumpled as I became more transparent.

"Damn. I'll see you tomorrow. Good luck with telling the Axew, and don't worry about planning. I'll talk to Vita and Victor about it tonight. Get some real rest for once, take a break. I'll seeya around."

* * *

I groggily opened my eyes as I groaned. I felt none of the vitality I'd felt within my mind with Mew. Rather, I was pretty unhappy with being woken.

"Shh, shh," a soothing voice spoke as I felt myself being bounced up and down about in a smooth and calm way. I felt the faintest sensation of being carried, but gave no mind to it. I simply shifted around for a few moments before calming and closing my eyes once again.

* * *

I didn't want to get up. This was simply one of those peaceful mornings in which everything was perfect. Unlike the previous day, after having had blood drawn, I felt anything but restless.

I simply reveled in the act of letting my mind go blank, silently enjoying the serenity of my surroundings, whatever they may be.

I only chose to open my eyes as I felt yet another shift in movement beside me, promptly followed by a set of fingers twirling through the pompadour of fur atop my head. I blinked a few times to adjust.

"Morning, Nox," Skyla said sweetly. I laid on top of the sheets, nestled in against her side. She was now awake, and scratching the top of my head. I stretched absentmindedly, an action she took as approval.

A feeling of contentedness rose within me. She seemed much better off in mood than she had during the previous night.

"I didn't think you would want to stay outside last night, so I brought you in to stay with me. Is that alright?"

I smiled for a moment before nodding. Despite my predisposition against the gesture, her repeated scratching felt rather nice and reassuring.

"Ray… Never told me about you. I'm happy he hatched you, though. I'm sure he would've made a great guardian."

I nodded solemnly for a moment, careful not to react in any way as to reveal my identity. Skyla smiled softly.

"Sorry, I've been going about this a bit quickly… Have we really introduced ourselves to each other?"

I shook my head after mulling it over for a few seconds. The small interaction on the walk to the train while we were in Timberline hardly counted.

"Well, I'm Ray's Aunt, Skyla, another Gym Leader here in Unova, but I'm from far away. I'm Ray's mother's sister, and we were very close to each other."

I nodded slowly in understanding.

"Drayden's letting me stay here for a little while until everything gets sorted out with your trainer. But until then, we can be friends, right?"

I hardly waited a moment before nodding. I was eager to catch up with the Gym Leader, and begin making up for the period in which I'd completely shunned her as a human. If I had the opportunity of being born again, why not fulfill that life with rectifying the mistakes of my past self?

Who was I kidding? I was still Ray Alston, nothing had changed. I was in a new body, sure, but internally, I was entirely me. Or at least I hoped so.

"Your Axew friend was apparently asking about you last night after you fell asleep. Do you want to go get some breakfast?"

My mind flitted back for a moment to the decision I'd made in regards to telling Misa my identity. I let my gaze wander for a moment in retrospection. Mew gave me full discretion to do as I pleased, so why was I feeling hesitant? I'd already committed to confiding in Misa for the time being. If so, why did my legs feel heavy when I tried standing?

Skyla took my attempts to rise as an affirmative to the question. She shifted herself in such a way as to escape the sheets that otherwise held her captive, crossed the room, and opened the door before waiting as I followed suit.

Light flooding into the hallway from the various windows in the main living area relayed the information it was already well into the morning. I thought for a moment about how I'd been told of a hatchling's inclination to spend most of their time asleep, which would explain how I felt not at all odd following the passage of at least two thirds of the last 24 hours in unconsciousness.

Nobody was in the kitchen or the living room, oddly. However, I was happy for the company in the form of Skyla. She soon asked where my food was, leading me to point with my snout towards the cabinet in which Skipp, more often than not, kept the food I'd been told as being specifically designed for hatchlings to aid in their development. It tasted like mush, yet, much like the milk I'd been subjected to before growing small teeth, I'd grown begrudgingly used to it.

Skyla herself had only ventured outside of her room once before in the wake of the attack following our arrival to Opelucid. Yet, in sharp contrast to the mood swings I'd seen her struggling with in Timberline and last night, she seemed rather content. I gave myself a small bit of credit for such a shift in behavior. I liked to think my company and connection to Ray helped her heal, if only slightly.

How would she react to the discovery I was actually her nephew, however? She would have to know in the end, wouldn't she? Or, if I played my cards correctly, I could play it all off and nobody would be any wiser. They would have to question, however, the disappearance of Nox the Zorua, having been such an influential and integral part of the complex for even a short period of time.

It'd been about three and a half weeks since the incident itself took place. Nearly a month in a body that wasn't my own. It would be impossible to dispose of such a persona that had grown from relationships I'd made and recreated during this strange period in my lifetime.

I'd made it nearly halfway through my breakfast when the door leading into the courtyard flew open and crashed against the back wall. A bulky figure had quite the struggle fitting through the door itself.

"Goddamnit," Crag the Druddigon muttered to himself. "This sort of crap is the reason I sleep in the TEC."

"Oh! Good morning, Druddigon!" Skyla exclaimed, opting to act as if she hadn't been sheltered away during the previous week.

"Sure, hi, whatever," he blew the Gym Leader off as he popped through the doorframe and into the kitchen. Even from my vantage point on the countertop, he towered at least three more feet above me.

"Kid, you're comin' with me," he stated with brevity, focusing a pair of dull yellow eyes on my reaction. I was confused, to say the least. Was Drayden to have another unannounced event that required my presence?

I thought it better to comply rather than argue with the bulkiest member of Drayden's team. Sighing, I said a quick goodbye to Skyla and regrettably found my way off the counter and onto the floor. I waited patiently as Crag turned and took a few moments to push his jagged, useless wings back through the door.

"First lesson," he iterated as we began making our way across the courtyard and towards the TEC. "Don't make me come find you. You ain't gonna be waitin' on anyone when you're fightin', so what's gonna happen is gonna happen only if _you_ want it. Got me?"

"Uhh… Kinda? What's this about?"

"It's your lucky day, kid. It's about damn time you learned when to fight."

"W-wait," I stuttered, the gears turning in my head. This only spelled disaster. "We're doing this _now_?"

"When else? When the enemy's bangin' at our door? Nah, nah. You're gonna learn, all right, and learn quick, too. I been told you're a quick learner."

"Maybe? I don't know?"

"Well, the other one's already in the TEC, workin' with Vulcan. And I'll be damned if I let myself fall behind Vulcan and his old ass."

I couldn't help but snort somewhat at the statement.

"You think I'm funny? Well good! Cause I fuckin' am! Funny until the actual work starts. That's when everyone quits laughin'."

He flashed an item he'd been apparently holding in one of his claws before tossing it into the air. I let it fall to the ground in front of me, perplexed.

"You ain't gonna catch it? At least do me the courtesy of pickin' it up and bringin' it back to me."

With the statement, the Druddigon stopped dead in his tracks. I did likewise.

"Go on. Pick it up and bring it back. Fetch."

I sent him a confused glance.

"Do I have to repeat myself?!" he roared. I felt my heart kick into action as his voice shook the ambience. I could even feel a rumble beneath my paws as his command reverberated amongst the inner walls of the courtyard. I took no extra time before chomping down on what was revealed to be a slice of Sitrus before taking off towards him as fast as my injured leg would allow.

"Don't you let a drop of that fall into your mouth! You gotta earn the energy!"

He laid out his claw as I drew close. Careful to heed his command, I simply tilted my head in such a way to where I could drop it without issue.

He paused for a moment before standing back up to his full height. I looked upon him with a sense of intimidation.

He proceeded to wind up and throw the slice across the grounds. I looked at him confusedly for only a moment, a glance met with a harsh stare from the greater being.

"You gonna get that? I think it slipped," he scowled, glance quickly shifting into one of hunger. I wasted no time in taking off again, for fear of being met with another one of his roars.

The slice of Sitrus was now considerably dirtied by the grassy patch it'd been thrown in. I grabbed it and sprinted back towards the looming Druddigon, giving no mind to why I was performing such a mundane task. I would've ran miles if he told me to, not out of respect, but purely from an instinctive intimidation I couldn't help but deny. The behemoth could tear me limb from limb effortlessly if he so desired.

I dropped the Sitrus slice in his outstretched claw again. He waited about four seconds then threw it again, in near the exact same spot. I only sent him a small, exasperated glance I hoped he didn't see before running to retrieve it once more.

This exchange, as embarrassing as it was, went on for approximately ten minutes. He always threw the slice in nearly the exact same spot, and it only got progressively more disgusting to handle as time went on.

Every time I'd stopped for even a moment to rest, he'd either roar at me or send me an aggressive glare. I combed my mind multiple times to determine what I was doing wrong. There had to be a reason, right?

I eventually got into the rhythm of the constant back and forth movement, and could complete the circuit in as little as ten seconds. Despite my leaving early more often than not, however, Crag always maintained his four-second gap before tossing the Sitrus slice again.

During one attempt, I'd only been two feet away from ground zero as it fell. After retrieving and bringing it back on attempt 58, as I counted, I simply sprinted back to the site, stopped, and watched as the slice completed its arc in the sky and landed in front of me.

The next attempt, 59, was the first one I'd actually tried catching the slice as it fell. Lack of coordination, however, meant I miscalculated where it would fall. It hit me square between the eyes. I wasted no time in trying again.

Something was different about Crag on attempt 60, when I'd succeeded in catching the slice and trotting back. The Druddigon simply grabbed hold of it, but paused as I sprinted back to the landing zone. He hadn't moved so much as a muscle, prompting me to return. Was it finally over?

"Swallow it this time," he simply said as he tossed the slice straight up in the air. Questioning not how undoubtedly filthy it was, and instead simply glad to be finished running, I tracked it, opened my mouth, and let the tarnished piece of Sitrus fall in. It practically disintegrated by the time it bounced off my tongue. I made quick work of chewing and swallowing it, grimacing at the disgusting taste.

Crag had already begun walking towards the TEC. I simply panted in defeat as I conceded to trail him.

* * *

"There's always a hidden answer, some way to get past, everythin', and fightin's no exception."

This was the first real lesson I'd been taught, and throughout the entirety of the day, he'd made sure those words were ingrained within my skull enough times to last me a lifetime.

Somin, Vulcan, and Crag all had widely different styles of teaching. Vulcan's method was most desirable in my mind, as it seemed Misa was having a relatively fun time hopping about with the simple agility exercises she performed across the tournament grounds. The Haxorus, an obvious choice as her mentor, gave her pointers every so often, including the use of her tusks as a weapon.

Somin's method of self-teaching was frustrating, certainly. I hadn't forgotten his instruction to practice cultivating my energy into a move, even with the miniscule amount of direction he'd provided. His method was one of self-discovery, in which I could find whatever method worked best for me and build off of it.

Crag's methodology, conversely, was hell. It seemed he forgot at any given moment that I simply appeared as nothing more than a hatchling. While the change of treatment was refreshing, I couldn't call it at all enjoyable.

He would teach the simplest of points through the most convoluted of lessons, as if I couldn't simply take direction without proving each and every theorem regarding battle he whizzed at me.

A majority of our time was spent in a single exercise, a 'game' Crag liked to called 'Don't Let Go'. The object of the game was simple. I was to jump and dodge a few, effortless attacks the Druddigon would throw at me before finding a suitable spot in which I could use my jaw strength, or lack thereof, to bite down on the Druddigon in any place possible. That was the easy part.

The difficulty of the game came as the Druddigon began spinning, and trusted me to hang on as he writhed about. Of course, a lack of prominent teeth was an issue, but on top of that, the Druddigon's skin _hurt_. As in, painful to the touch. It felt like his scales were as sharp as thorns. It was a rare occasion, certainly, in which I was able to hang on for any more than three seconds.

His justification for the exercise? Jaw strength was a key attribute of Dark-types, a generalization I'd never once heard, _especially_ considering the Zorua line didn't even naturally learn Bite, let alone Crunch. Was an exercise of this caliber truly necessary?

I found myself pleased, however, when faced with and given the ability to overcome situations that would have previously caused harm and further injury. The astroturf grass caused for some smooth landings more often than not as my jaw strength failed me. I learned rather quickly how to land safely on a whim, regardless. If anything, the exercise was useful in learning recovery following a hard hit. My leg was holding together rather well, and, as promised by Seraph the previous night, I must have been 'fully healed'. The nurses the previous day had completely cleared me for all sorts of physical activity.

In addition, the bandage had been removed upon entering the TEC with Crag. The lack of covering of the site of the injury prompted a chilling feeling whenever I was to move excessively. The fur around was shaved and slowly growing back in, and looking at the jagged scar that remained and would show prevalently for all time remaining in this body was unsettling.

Crag, for no other reason besides his having the largest Dark-type arsenal on Drayden's entire team, had been selected to be my mentor in battle technique and instruction.

After perhaps three or four hours of exercises consisting mainly of 'Don't Let Go', Crag stopped, and instructed me to do likewise.

"Alright. You're smart enough to know battling ain't all physical activity. You gotta keep stamina up in your core, don'tcha?"

I nodded quickly, struggling to catch my breath. Once again, I found myself struggling to keep up with the Druddigon's exceedingly quick pace, giving me no time to protest the sudden transition into a new life of training.

I supposed it was for the best. I wasn't exactly enjoying myself, but I had some reassurance in the notion that I was on the path to learning how to hold my own in a fight. Such had been one of the more anticipated aspects of my new life, and the last thing I wanted was to be forced into another situation like the attack when arriving in Opelucid.

"I been told you can do Illusions. How much you done so far?"

"Uhh, well… I can speak for a bit with illusions… I've only been able to make myself see something once, and it was nothing close to the real thing."

"Huh… Well, we start there then. Show me a Druddigon."

"W-what?"

"You heard me, didn'tcha? You got a nice, beautiful, and perfect model here to work offa, too. So get to it."

Crag paused for a moment before looking away and muttering to himself. I watched as he crossed the field and reached into a bag that'd been placed haphazardly on one of the benches.

Without warning, he chucked the item into the air. Recognizing the same exercise as earlier, I was quick to hop into action and wait for it to fall. It met the object, yet another fruit slice, by rearing up on my hind legs and jumping as it came into range. I fumbled the object within my mouth for a moment before biting down, hard. The juice squirted out of my mouth and down my throat without any predetermined pattern as I chewed and swallowed. The taste indicated to me the Berry was Sitrus.

"A'ight, go for it."

Without any further question, I stared roughly at the Druddigon, taking note of each and every jagged corner, each individual color, even so much as his facial expression. I made sure to burn the image of Crag within my mind as I closed my eyes, opened a connection, and tried recreating the image.

It was much more difficult conjuring a being of this size, however, than a simple apple, which was all I'd been able to accomplish previously. I started from the bottom up as if I were trying to photocopy the dragon through the illusionary connection. Even then, I could feel the connection begging for more energy in order to receive the sheer amount of information needed to relay the image of the dragon. I could mentally create the Illusion, but I didn't have near the power required to complete it.

I was only able to make it about halfway up before my endurance ran thin and I had to stop. The Sitrus had hardly helped.

"That it?"

"I think that's all I can do."

"I ain't one to judge you on how much or how little you can do with Illusions, but I sure as hell know if it takes that long to do somethin' that little, you done already lost the fight. Work on it."

I nodded solemnly. At least now, however, I had a legitimate reason to practice my grasp on Illusions. As far as I knew, I was still ahead of the metaphorical curve. Most kits around the age of my body were only just learning to walk.

"You ever done a move?"

I shook my head.

"I'm guessin' it's pretty similar. This is how we're gonna go forward with this, though. I'm gonna walk ya through how to direct the energy that's gonna be the stuff you use for all the moves you ever do. After that, though, masterin' attacks's just a matter of how you form the energy and use it to your advantage. Got me?"

"Kinda."

"Example. Say, I wanna use Dragon Pulse. Simple as charging my claws with energy, pushin' out the energy in a controlled way to make a ball, then release."

For clarification, he followed his own directions, firing a fairly-large Dragon Pulse outwards only to have it fizzle away within twenty feet.

"Now, I wanna use Dragon Claw. How do I do that?"

"... Well, wouldn't you just coat your claws in energy instead of make a projectile with it?"

"Basically. See? Simple as that. Gets a bit more complicated when you wanna use more than one kind of move, but you ain't gonna be worrying about that for a while."

"Yeah…"

"Whatever. You'll figure it out eventually even if you got no clue what I'm sayin' right now. Let's get to it."

Much like Somin had instructed two nights previous, Crag told me to squeeze my energy from all areas in my body except for my right, front paw. I contracted as hard as I could, eager to finally be practicing. No matter how hard I tried holding it, however, nothing happened. It seemed as soon as I took my attention off of one area, the energy would simply inadvertently flow like water back into the crevasses it no longer occupied.

I shook my head after a while in defeat.

"Don't stop."

"Crag, I-"

"DON'T STOP."

The roar was quick to get me back into a submissive mindset. My ears rang from the sheer volume of the Druddigon's voice.

"Come on! An Elgyem is comin' at you! You're gonna let yourself be fuckin' taken out by a Psychic-type?! You're a Dark-type, and I'm gonna guess Yveltal doesn't take well to disappointments! Make. A. Fuckin'. Move!"

I tried retracting and extending my claws as I flexed every single muscle in the area possible out of sheer helplessness. It seemed, however, an instinctive reaction in my body caused for energy to flood in the area.

In recognition of the sudden shift, I flexed more. Was the action really the correct direction? If I were to concentrate and flex a muscle, energy would automatically flood the area as if to support it. I dug my claws into the astroturf below and shut my eyes tight.

My paw, simultaneously and without warning, caught fire and froze. My senses had no way of describing the soothing-yet-vigorous response to allowing enough energy to make its way to the appendage.

Much to my shock, ceasing in clenching the muscles didn't have an effect on the sensation. Energy still circulated within my paw, now seemingly separated from my core. I shook it vigorously, taken aback by the sudden change of pace.

Was this over-extension? No, I felt perfectly fine. But for the life of me I couldn't get rid of the sensation in my paw.

"Open your eyes, kid."

I hadn't yet gone as far as to do that. Following Crag's instruction, however, I was surprised to find my paw had since become the source of black wisps of energy as they escaped and fizzled out of existence.

"It's a start. Energy's self-sustaining now. You've separated it _completely_ from the core and now it's just a bunch of independent energy that can't escape your paw unless you let it. Feels weird, don't it?"

"Y-yeah."

"You'll get used to it. That wisp stuff is what happens when you're only a little bit charged. It'll actually start glowing when you feed it more power. Now that it's separated, though, it ain't gonna take any extra energy to keep it up. You're charged with as much energy as you let get separated from you. It ain't much, but it's enough to keep itself up. More powerful moves need more of a charge, yada yada yada, you get the jist."

"What do I do now, then?"

"I'll give you one free shot."

"What?"

"Hit me. With your paw. Now."

"Uhh…" I said, resigning to hobble forward while keeping all weight off my paw. I was afraid placing it on the ground would cause something bad to happen. The sensation of fire and ice flowing through the limb was still as intense as it was before.

I stopped a few feet short of the Druddigon's shin, considering I only measured at my full height to just below his knee. Tentatively, I reached out, wound up, and smacked his shin with my paw.

I could feel a vacuum-like sensation as the fire-and-ice feeling in my paw receded, sucked out of my body and absorbed into that of the Druddigon.

"Damn. That almost hurt a little bit."

I felt my ears lay against my head with the condescending jab.

"It's still a start. Now that you got a feel for it, you can feed more energy into any area you want and make your attacks stronger. Careful to only charge yourself when you wanna use a move, though. Once you're charged, that energy's not yours no more. No take-backs. If you discharge it into nothin', fine, but it'll automatically get absorbed if you touch a 'mon. So, say you charge up and accidentally touch my mother. There's no stopping you from hurtin' her old, poor soul, and nothin' stoppin' me from tearing you apart. Got me?"

"Mhmm," I simply said, satisfied. I gave a quick glance over to where Misa and Vulcan were sparring with one another. Misa leapt into the air at a height about twice her size, spun, and clumsily tried crashing down on the towering dragon with her tusks, which were outlined in golden-blue, draconic energy. Vulcan simply reached up and intercepted the hit, absorbing the volatile energy in the process of deflecting the Axew herself.

She was more advanced than I'd imagined. Perhaps it was a better teaching method and personal pointers in the form of Vulcan, but she was doing leaps and bounds better than I myself. I felt a small flare of jealousy sit at the forefront of my mind for a moment.

But, Crag had been right. It was a start.

* * *

By the end of the day, I was proud to say I'd succeeded in funneling and detaching enough energy in my paw in order to make it glow, however faintly. Crag had detailed it was the sign of a successful charge. The greater the glow, the greater the indication of how much power was invested. The entire process was exhausting, but I appreciated his allowance of my taking small breaks during this segment.

I remembered Somin had detailed to me my core was like a muscle to be trained like any other. The more I trained it, the more energy it would create. Increasing my stamina was vital to be successful, and now I had the basic keys to success.

I knew how to conjure Illusions. I knew how to charge my limbs with power, though not exactly how to mold it into coherent moves. The rest was on me to experiment and become fluent with. Only with training at my own pace would I become a successful battler.

As always when faced with the prospect, however, I questioned whether or not this was truly necessary. To protect myself was a necessity, of course, but I found myself daydreaming about what I'd be like as an adept battler one too many times. I was becoming hopeful for one of the more interesting aspects of being a Zorua when, if all went to plan, such a life would never come to fruition.

I came out of the day sore from physical exercise, but fulfilled through learning one of the most important things to know about my new body. Crag was an intimidating figure, certainly, but his motivation through intimidation was what allowed me to proceed without question.

I only began questioning the brevity of the transition into battling lessons as I was crossing the courtyard with Misa back towards Drayden's residence. She was going on about how awe-inspiring of a battler Vulcan was, but I found myself questioning why Drayden had waited for such a little time after my healing before pressuring me into battling. Alder was coming, which may have been a factor, but was it something I would have to worry about?

"So, you gonna show me?"

"Show you what?"

"Jeez, at least try to pay attention when your Master's talking… Show me what you learned, shortstack!"

"Oh, uh, well," I said, looking away for a moment. I paused before flooding my paw with as much energy as I could manage in order to impress even somewhat. My accomplishments paled in comparison to hers, so I went as far as to slightly overextend myself to engulf my paw in a consistently-radiant shade of deep purple.

"Huh. Whatever. Not as strong as you say you are, huh?"

Somewhat miffed, I stopped, pivoted, and wasted no time in slamming my paw into the Axew's stomach. I felt the heightened sense of the vacuum as the small dragon absorbed my volatile energy.

As she reeled in obvious shock I burst out into laughter. She took a few steps back before correcting herself, leaning over, and panting.

"The hell was that for?! That hurt, prick!"

"Sorry!" I yelled with no meaning behind the word, "Stronger than you thought, huh?"

She sent me a devilish glare as I saw the faintest of golden-blue outlines engulf her tusks. I took it as indication to run, and so I did, taking off in a random direction while laughing openly.

"Get back here!"

I ran in circles for about half a minute, happy I was able to outpace the bipedal creature with my extra legs. She'd nearly caught me twice, jumped, and dug her tusks into the ground where I'd been not a moment prior. Despite the imminent danger of being hit by the attack, I felt elated and alive.

"Coward!"

"Guess I'm faster, too!" I taunted back, setting my sights on the grassy patch of the courtyard. I stopped and, looking confidently back towards the Axew, charged my paw once more.

"We doing this, then? Rematch from a few weeks ago?"

"Oh, you're so on, shorty! I'm gonna crush you!"

"Try it."

Misa, finally glad I was remaining still, lowered her head and charged. I did likewise, digging my claws into the dirt below to gain momentum. With my paw still charged, I stopped dead a few feet before I would have otherwise collided with the dragon, instead sidestepping in the hopes of knocking her away as she passed.

However, all she had to do was correct her movements with a simple head turn. As I leapt forward with paw outstretched, she whipped her head to the side, catching her left tusk under my elbow. It dug into my ribcage, and I got to feel the full brunt of the draconic energy as it flooded my system.

It was a feeling I hadn't felt before… I could feel each and every bit of Misa's power as it invaded my body and attacked my core. My energy levels dropped significantly, leaving my muscles weak and sore after only a single hit.

By the time it fizzled out, taking with it a large majority of the energy I had within my system of the time, I was on the ground several feet away, struggling to regain my breath. Despite the rapid exhaustion to set it due to the lack of energy in the wake of the attack, in addition to the less noticeable physical pain to flare up from my ribs, I began giggling uncontrollably.

I'd skimmed Misa with my paw during her pass. She was in much the same state as I, having already absorbed the energy before, now compiled with the damage I'd just accomplished.

I struggled to get to my feet, woozy yet elated. I'd gotten the life beaten out of me in such a simple exchange, yet I felt more alive in the following moments than I ever had.

"Misa, that was awesome!" I cheered. My first actual battle! Ever! It was exhilarating! Energy was quick to replace itself within my body. My core seemed to be reflecting my emotions in its productivity. How had I not been told how invigorating a feeling it was to be in a battle? Was it my own psyche, or an instinctive response to such a natural occurrence for my body?

"Ah, shut up already, wouldya?"

I helped the Axew to her feet. She seemed to be in an even worse state than I, having taken not one, but two of my attacks, however weaker they were in comparison to hers.

"Another tie?"

"No! You got a free hit on me! That ain't fair!"

"Life's not fair."

She groaned and took a moment to seethe. She was quickly regaining her strength as well, and began making way towards the pool in the opposite corner of the courtyard. I followed her excitedly.

She wasted no time in dipping a hand into the water and bringing it up to her mouth to drink.

"You sure that's clean water?"

"Tastes fine to me."

I shrugged and turned towards the natural water feature. My muscles locked for a moment when faced with it. I was more than happy to lay down by the edge, however, in a much less movable position. I reached forward and lapped up a few gulps of the frigid water with my tongue.

"So."

"So?..."

Misa cleared her throat, "You talk with your imaginary friend last night?"

My stomach dropped. I'd forgotten in the moments prior of the commitment I'd made to tell Misa my secret. I could still retract if I wanted to.

"Yeah… We talked for a little bit," I said simply, hoping to stretch the conversation for as long as possible.

"You gonna tell me your secret, then?"

I looked away and into the pool of water before me, caring not for the feeling of apprehension to rise as it shifted and swirled about. If I were to tell her, there wouldn't be a better time to do so.

And yet I remained silent, quietly embracing the calm before the storm. If I were to tell her, there would be no way to predict her reaction. My life, as a result of trusting her enough to tell her, could have just as easily strayed into a downward spiral from which I would never be able to recover.

Despite my best efforts to put it out of my mind, I found myself slowly acclimating to that idea.

And yet, there was no way out.

* * *

 **I'm glad to say I'm fairly proud of this chapter and how long it took to write. I completed about 95% of the entire chapter during one, four-hour sitting, not including editing. I believe the constant train of thought helped greatly in making a generally solid chapter.**

 **One of the more anticipated aspects of Ray's character, in terms of my writing, was the reveal that the name itself, Ray, was merely a nickname he later adopted as a true name.**


	20. Hiccup

**l**

 **Chapter XIX - Hiccup**

* * *

Misa sat silently beside me as the television played before us. I watched in embarrassment as all previous notions she had about me were shattered as I gave her the proof she'd requested when I told her I was human.

"Turn it off, shrimp," she said after a while. She had seen my face multiple times already, and needed not see anymore.

"Look, Misa-"

"Just be quiet. I need to think."

"I told you the secret was-"

"I said shut up, freak!"

I scooted back a few minutes as she focused wide eyes on me, scrutinizing every feature of my new body as if she was just seeing it for the first time.

"I don't get it! Why do you look like that?!"

"I told you alr-"

"It wasn't a question for you, idiot! I told you to shut up!"

She brought her hands up to her face in a gesture much akin to frustration. I could hear her long, ladened breaths in the silence of the room.

It was a mistake to let her know. There was no stopping her from telling someone now. I should have taken into more serious account her growing relationship with Drayden's team, especially Vulcan. We were acquaintances, certainly, but placing trust in the Axew had simply been a mistake.

After approximately five minutes of this, she began loosening up and sent a defeated glare towards the sheets beneath her.

"Not a word from you. I'm gonna go get dinner."

I fumbled for words, but stopped myself as Misa hopped off the bed and walked confidently towards the door, not giving so much as another glance in my direction.

Was she angry at me? It would make sense to infer as much, with such a gigantic load of information having been kept from her for seemingly no reason. I wanted her to know what I kept the secret for as long as I had, but not at the expense of her breaking her vow and telling someone.

Just for extra insurance, and as she rounded the corner and slunk towards the kitchen, I followed her. If she were to tell Seraph or Skipp, I would want to be there to deny any claims as a joke before they had time to absorb the information and draw the connections.

Dinner passed in dead silence. Even Seraph and Skipp, awkwardly thinking of conversation topics, only succeeded as far as sending me short, questioning glances. They were shocked to see the regression back into the seemingly combative mood the two of us had been in since we met, after we had demonstrated so clearly progress towards becoming acquaintances, friends, even.

I just shrugged them off whenever they silently asked me what had happened. A mood swing, or perhaps something I'd said. Such were possible reasons for Misa's silent, borderline frustrated contemplation.

She went out of her way to avoid all eye contact with me for the entire, short duration of the meal. I would catch her silently eyeing me, as if looking for discrepancies beneath my gray fur with her knowledge of my not being as I seemed.

Skyla entered after a little while, surprisingly from the direction of the TEC rather than her room. After greeting each of us with a soft smile, she lightly pushed past Skipp so she could dig through some of the cupboards to throw together a meal.

The sounds of her humming a jovial tune echoed throughout the otherwise silent area.

"You guys sound dead," she commented uselessly. Shrugging to myself, I simply turned away and scarfed down the last few bits of food I had left.

"Well, I hope you don't mind if I turn on the TV, then? Why so quiet? Did something happen?"

Skipp shook his head curtly and gestured towards the both of us as he let Skyla pass back out from behind the counter. Upon getting his inference, she nodded understandingly.

Misa left the rest of her meal behind relatively quickly afterwards, silently standing and walking out towards the courtyard. I followed suit, having already finished. Seraph tried intervening, but I sent her a pleading glance, thankfully keeping her at bay.

Misa pushed through the door. I followed relatively closely behind.

"Why are you following me?" she asked annoyedly without looking back.

"No other reason than making sure you don't tell anyone."

"I promised you, didn't I? Just leave me alone for a bit and let me think without you being around and constantly pushing down on me."

I stopped while she continued forward towards the grassy patch. I didn't move a muscle as she sat and laid down on her back, letting her gaze wander towards the faraway stars.

Silence for another few minutes. I tried making my presence unknown, but this was much too important a secret to leave her alone with. After a little while, I laid down on the pavement, muscles feeling tired and sore from the nearly full day of physical exercise.

"Tell me what the hell I got dragged into."

I perked up as Misa began speaking. I wasted no time in rising before approaching lightly.

"What?"

"I said to tell me what the hell's going on. What does this mean for me?"

"The humans think I killed a _ton_ of people really far away about a month ago, but it isn't true. Something bad happened and, well… I… I don't want to have to explain why I'm stuck in this stupid body."

I was nearly next to her by then, and simply laid down in the grass beside her.

"So what, then, you trying to clear your name or whatever?" she asked, still reluctant to face me. Her red eyes blinked a few times in the darkness.

"Not really… More like trying to hide, which is what we were doing when Drayden found us all on the mountain. Which is why they can't know I'm me. Do you understand?"

She closed her eyes again as she shook her head slowly. "I always knew you were a weird kid, but this… This is just insane."

"You don't have to tell me twice. You didn't wake up one day in a body that wasn't yours anymore."

Silence reigned once more for quite a bit of time. I eventually began staring at the stars in much the same fashion she was, hoping to find whatever constellation intrigued her the most.

"Stand up."

"What?"

She was looking at me now with indifference. I looked back at her with confusion.

"Slave rules still apply. Human or not, you still gotta do what I say."

"You're not… Angry?" I asked as I followed her command. She sat up, stood, and began poking me at random intervals in different areas, as if testing the validity of my body's actual presence before her.

"I didn't know what a human was until a few weeks ago. I'm more pissed than I am surprised, even though it's _weird_ as all hell. Plus, you haven't changed at all, and I don't think you will. Nothing's gonna change the fact you're a shrimp _and_ a wimp, so here's the deal."

She stopped prodding and sat down directly in front of my face with her legs crossed. I did likewise, laying down once more with my paws under my chin.

"You," she said, pointing at me condescendingly, "are still the annoying little weirdo that I met up on the mountain. Your secret told me why you act so stupid all the time, but I ain't gonna change at all because of it, and neither should you. That's what you want, though, right? To make Seraph and everyone else think nothing's changed?"

"Preferably."

"Then it's settled. I ain't ever had a human slave before… This should be fun."

I sighed, both in relief and in slight exasperation. She didn't seem to be preparing to reveal me, though her 'change of heart' indirectly and most certainly would lead to a strengthened sense of privilege. She hadn't yet the mind nor the experience with humans to identify my transformation as nothing more than a simply odd occurrence. However, she would most definitely be pushing her limits with me now, more than ever, considering she'd realized I was much more than I seemed.

Perhaps she would 'punish' me, in a sense, for retaining my secret for so long? In the end, however, I'd long since put it past the Axew to do anything malicious. She was annoying as one could believe, hardheaded and confident, certainly, but she wasn't violent.

"Misa, Nox!"

I looked back towards the entrance of the living area as Seraph's voice rang through the courtyard. Misa turned her head likewise. I was first to rise and begin walking towards the Altaria. Misa followed suit soon after.

"Come now, I don't need you both getting even more dirty. We need to get you both washed up for tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Misa asked, "What's tomorrow?"

I had a faint idea, and as I began combing my memory, Seraph answered simply.

"We're going to have a house meeting in a little bit to discuss that. It's nothing alarming, I promise."

* * *

Skyla ran a brush through my tangled and still-damp fur as the impromptu meeting was to begin. Seraph had detailed little of what she was referring to, but by inference I suspected it to be an occasion for which we were supposed to be presentable. While I'd been in the bath, however, and in an attempt to take my mind off of the water, I'd thought and discerned what we were to be gathered for.

Only present were myself, Misa, Seraph, and Skyla. Skipp, as I'd been told, was in the TEC with Vulcan and Crag, and would remain there, as the information we were to be briefed on had already been run through them.

I whined reluctantly as Skyla ran the brush through a section of knotted fur. She shushed me lightly.

Misa had been oddly silent following dinner and a quick bath. We'd gone one at a time, but I still caught her at random intervals looking at me with intrigue, as if she was still searching for the most subtle of characteristics pertaining to my humanity. Every time I caught her, I would briefly scold her with a quick glare. I had to be careful as to not let Seraph catch on.

I took my mind of the subject, however, as Drayden entered the room from the direction of the courtyard. He seemed to have an air of business about him, but who followed him into the room succeeded in surprising my greatly.

"I'm not sure the two hatchlings have met him officially, so here we are," he began abruptly. "This is Brycen. We've been colleagues for quite a long time, and he's the Gym Leader in Icirrus City, nearby where we were staying in Timberline."

I shot the younger man an offstandish glance. He was dressed in casual clothes one would expect a regular man to wear. The instances in which I'd ever seen him not dressed in his normal, Gym attire were few and far between. Even when he'd apprehended us after my injury, in the freezing cold, he'd been wearing it. This was perhaps the first time I'd ever seen him in person without his mask. The only thing distinguishing him from a normal person was his long, blue-dyed hair, tied and styled in such away so the ends came to spikes around his shoulders.

If he was here, nothing good would come of it. I knew that much.

Skyla, seemingly unaware as to the other Gym Leader's presence before this encounter, narrowed her eyes.

"He's done us all the favor of closing his Gym and agreeing to provide some extra help around here for the time being."

"And I wasn't told about this, why?"

"We only made the arrangements this morning. He'd already returned from his watch in Ray's cave, and was kind enough to get on a flight straight here. He arrived perhaps an hour ago."

"Before you ask," Brycen interjected as Skyla was about to respond. He spoke calmly, but with a sense of finality in which he gave the impression of disinterest. "The Braviary never came back. Probably saw everything that went down and got out while he could."

" _Speaking_ of which," Drayden jumped back in, eyebrow twitching. He turned softly towards me, facial expression unwavering. "Nox, I'm sorry to tell you your friend, Jet, was never found. He went missing the night we found you all, and has been since.

Skyla was seemingly more upset about the prospect than I myself, as I showed little to no emotion outside of a forcibly pensive demeanor. I tried concealing my face in fake disappointment to make up for the horrible acting job I couldn't help but commit.

Seraph was there, however, scooting next to Skyla on the couch and silently encouraging me with a brush of a wing over my head.

"The real reason I've gathered you here, however, is something more prevalent. To put it simply, one of my superiors is coming to stay with us tomorrow, and I feel the need to set some rules, as it's important we create a presentable environment for him."

I could almost physically feel the annoyance with which he spoke the words. While they were technically true, the mask surrounding his true feelings on the topic was paper-thin.

"His name is Alder, and he's the Champion of Unova. He is more than likely the single most powerful man in the region, and it's incredibly important we're on our _best behavior_."

While the phrase was obviously directed towards the distracted Axew sitting on the floor and I, Drayden seemed to let a bit of his command stray towards Skyla. I could hear her exhale dejectedly from above, making it known she had probably known about Alder's arrival beforehand.

Of course she was to be angry at the Champion. He was the League's head, and more than likely responsible for the repossession of her team. A few weeks now her companions had been confiscated as if they were contraband, and the league had made no indication they were soon to reverse their decision.

If I had to guess, she was absolutely livid at the prospect of having to share a roof with the man, but suppressed herself around Misa and I.

"Nox, I'm afraid most of these rules are going to have to apply to you, as your case is certainly an odd one. Alder doesn't know of your advanced intellect in the slightest, and I intend to keep his understanding of your condition minimal. Thus, you will not be allowed to use Illusions, or moves, or any sort of energy whatsoever while he is around, _unless_ Crag or one of my other teammates gives you specific permission to do so. Do you understand?"

I made no initial response.

"If you so much as even hint at your advancements in development, there is nothing stopping him from taking you away. You would never see your friends again. Now answer, do you understand?"

"Drayden, lighten up a bit," Skyla began.

" _I understand_ ," I replied via Illusion without giving Skyla any attention.

"Good," Drayden confirmed he'd heard me. "I will hold you to your word."

"Wait, you weren't screwing with me?" Brycen cut back in, staring dumbfoundedly directly at me. "He can actually use Illusions?"

"Have I not made it clear I-"

"You don't lie. I get it. Sure, whatever, but damn."

The younger Gym Leader crouched down to eye-level with me. I stared back at him skeptically.

"So, say something."

" _Don't look at me like that,_ " I simply said, feeling rather uncomfortable with being put directly in the spotlight. Brycen's face lit up in surprise.

"Huh, you're a weird one, ain'tcha?"

"Brycen," Skyla scolded. I shifted my gaze away from him and down towards Misa. She was snarkily satisfied, apparently finding humor in the fact there were now _three_ Gym Leaders under the same roof, all unknowing of my identity. I rolled my eyes at her. The fact she found humor in the situation wasn't reassuring.

"Teaching you how to battle," Drayden continued, "will be complicated, to say the least. However, I am of the impression everything will work out well. All in all, however, you mustn't let Alder know you have any grasp on your energy."

I nodded.

"For you, Misa, and considering the Gym reopens tomorrow, I've allowed you to enroll in regular classes taught by my team."

Misa's eyes lit up with the prospect.

"You will be allowed to train with other Pokémon of the same age, but you must promise me first that you will never mention our situation here at all. No references to any of what goes on inside this house. I want you to promise me that."

Misa nodded instantaneously, now on her feet. She was shaking with excitement.

"Good. Now, there's one last thing… The real reason I've gathered you both, rather than tell you separately."

Drayden, without further words, reached behind him. I began growing anxious.

Said anxiety multiplied tenfold as he revealed what he had been otherwise concealing. Skyla held me still, however, as I began to squirm.

"Misa, since you are unaware, these are Pokéballs. They are used by trainers such as myself to lay claim on any Pokémon that is mine, so no other trainer may capture it."

" _Misa, don't make any reaction to hearing me talk to you,_ " I sent to her through Illusions. " _This isn't good. At all. With Pokéballs he can restrict us and recall us as long as we're in range. If something happens, all he needs to do is retract us and it's game over._ "

"How does it work?" Misa asked, thankfully paying no visible mind to what I said. Her eyes narrowed in skepticism.

Drayden simply unlatched one of the Balls already on his belt and pointed it at Seraph. Without any warning, he retracted the Altaria, held still for a few moments, then released her again.

Misa was shocked to find Seraph stood next to Drayden as the white light faded. She took an involuntary step backwards.

Was Misa telling the truth when she said Drayden could understand her? No, an inference as to what she was saying could have easily been made.

"It doesn't hurt, sweetheart," Seraph encouraged. "Not at all, actually, and Drayden was kind enough to get for you both very special Pokéballs."

Seraph was correct in that regard. I'd never seen such advanced versions of the devices in person, but I'd heard once through an article about the development of type-specific Balls, those specifically crafted to appeal to a Pokémon of a specific type. Both of the ones he held were mainly black in coloration, but one had the decal of a red dragon twisting about the otherwise dark surface. The other had white, horizontal lines reaching around its circumference in a striped pattern. They were made for Dragon and Dark-types, respectively.

Misa was hardly reassured by Seraph's words. Taking my own into account, she began trying to recompose herself and ask questions.

"Do they trap you?" she asked tentatively.

"Well, with us, no. Unless the situation absolutely calls for it, you two will never have to stay inside. It's just a precaution in case someone tries to steal you from us."

Misa looked back up at me for reassurance. I was still reluctant.

Seraph sighed.

"I know you both are hesitant, but I promise it's nothing to be worried about. You'll probably never have to even see the Balls again after you're registered."

"Registered?"

"Well, the Ball would automatically register you into a system, and make it so Drayden is your one and only official caregiver."

"So, our trainer," I said condescendingly.

"In the technical sense, maybe," she countered, not expecting my rebuttal. "But he won't use you both to battle, that much I can promise."

" _Misa, don't do this,_ " I warned. The small dragon gave no indication she had heard me.

Silence for a few moments.

"You're still my slave, pipsqueak. Like I said, slave rules still apply, and now I know a _ton_ more. So, simple as this: do what Drayden says."

"Misa!" I exclaimed aloud. She'd betrayed me!

Ignoring me further, she pushed past Seraph unhappily and stopped at Drayden's foot. The Gym leader, thankful, crouched down to her level. Smirking thankfully, he reached out and grabbed the fin-like structure atop her head with a gigantic hand before shaking it playfully. Misa chuckled in response.

He was using his influence over her. He knew exactly how to appease an Axew, and she'd fallen right into his trap. Idiot.

With one, swift movement, he took the ball designated for Misa and lightly pressed it against her forehead. She was enveloped in red and gone an instant later.

 _No! Damn her! She has no idea what she's doing!_

The ball shook about after Drayden set it on the ground in the process of capture. After only two shakes, the Ball chimed with confirmation of capture.

I was positively livid. Drayden, satisfied, picked up the ball and released Misa only a few seconds afterwards. Without a center of balance, she fell on her face clumsily as she was released next to him.

All that were left near the couch were Skyla and I.

"Yo, Nox, that wasn't bad at all! It felt like I was floating!"

I shot her the nastiest glare I could muster.

Her words rang within my head. She would tell if I refused to be captured. I was forced to choose the lesser of two evils. It was either have my entire ruse lifted and shattered entirely, or throw an unmanageable monkey-wrench into any plans of escape.

The choice was simple, so why was I so reluctant to follow through with it? Misa's pressuring gaze wasn't helping in the slightest. Skyla ran a hand through the tuft of fur atop my head comfortingly.

Miffed, I stood and hopped off the couch, willing my legs to walk forward. I kept a condescending glare on Misa for the entirety of my walk, shifting slowly into contempt.

I forced myself to sit when I arrived at Drayden's foot. He was unmoved.

" _Get it over with,_ " I told him dejectedly. There was no way out of it.

Without further words, I closed my eyes, leaving myself completely susceptible to the cold, metal surface as it made contact with my skin.

I couldn't help but let my eyes fly back open as the world around me turned violently. It felt as if I was being dragged headfirst into an endless somersault. I could no longer see, but I _saw_. My body was disappearing. All my senses left me, one by one, until none remained.

I was energy.

Pure, unadulterated energy without a body to inhabit. My core was all that was left of me, the only constant remaining in a world of uncertainty.

Yet, as I gained full awareness, I realized rather quickly something was different.

The world inside of a Pokéball was black, as I'd imagined, but not completely without color.

For the first time ever, I saw what I truly was.

A small, spherical mass of energy, writhing about in a melodic fashion. It was small, and even looked quite weak.

And yet, I _was_ said mass. It was my core. That was me.

I could see everything within this world. I was omnipotent, in a sense, over this small dominion. I felt my own presence, miniscule as it was, though I knew something else was amiss.

Something was lurking, something large, and something scary. It was invading _my_ domain, or maybe it had been there the entire time.

Its presence seemed strangely familiar, as if it had been part of me for the longest time.

A speck, rather far away from the cluster of my core, shone with brilliance. It was nearly too bright to watch, yet still was rather dark in coloration. Was this the abnormality I felt? Was it the invader, the foreign energy existing in my world for some, unknown reason?

I felt a pulse, so strong it shook the world. Like a vine, I could feel my core being ensnared and wrapped around. My first instinct was to struggle, pushing against the strong, compressing force.

However, I was quick to realize this being the sensation of capture. As such, I tried my best to relax, allowing the sensation to squeeze and contract until it had nearly pushed past the outer boundaries of my core. I supposed letting it permeate the cluster of energy that was my existence would result in my capture.

The sensation did just that, sinking slowly beneath the surface of my being. It was odd, to say the least. This force, the force of the Pokéball, it was merging with my very core.

The speck of light, still distant, would have none of it.

As if it were sentient, it shot towards my core like a bullet. It had absolutely no trouble pushing past both the constricting force and the outer layers of my core, situating itself within, and pushing outwards with such an immense force the contractions stopped entirely.

I closed my eyes and cringed, only to reopen them seconds later with my paws planted firmly on the ground.

I heard a sigh, first and foremost, as my vision corrected itself from the blurry mess it was. I was back in reality, my consciousness restricted to my body alone. The speck, my core, they were all gone.

I felt sick; the world was spinning about with no pattern. I was going to vomit.

No, no, not vomit. A familiar sensation welled up inside me for a fraction of a second. The feeling of immense energy buildup, ready to be released. I'd felt it, shortly before my first discharge, but this was different. The amount of pent-up energy should have been impossible. Thus, only an instant passed before it happened.

I discharged, though not in the same fashion as before. The energy was a different color.

It was pink.

It pushed past my skin with the force of a freight train, threatening to tear me apart if it wasn't to permeate the layer of flesh that was my physical body. I heard faintly multiple, surprised yells as it happened.

Energy left me from all sides, like a sneeze, throwing me further off balance. The sheer amount of power discharged in that single instant was incalculable.

It was over as soon as it'd begun. I began coughing violently, gasping for breath.

"What the fuck?!" I heard Brycen yell through the ringing in my ears. "Drayden, the fuck was that?!"

"Is everyone alright?!"

I heard Skyla groan. Someone else began yelling.

"Misa's knocked out!"

I opened my eyes slowly.

The scene was carnage. Chairs, even those as far as the kitchen, had been toppled. Lamps had fallen, their bulbs broken. Even objects as heavy as the armchair in the room had been pushed outwards. It didn't take me long to realize I was the center.

* * *

Drayden slammed the remains of the black Pokéball onto his desk. It had been destroyed with the immense force of Nox's escape.

"This is a problem," Drayden vented angrily as Skyla shut the study door behind him. Already in the room were Vulcan and Brycen.

"No shit! I think we should be talking about what the actual _hell_ that discharge was!" Brycen exclaimed. "He tore your living room apart with a sneeze!"

"You act like I'm not aware," Drayden retaliated with a snarl.

"Drayden, I get you and Skyla want this kid brought home safe, but this just isn't worth it! That's not a fucking Zorua!"

"What do you know, Brycen!" Skyla yelled.

"I don't know much, but I know I just saw a _hatchling_ basically explode in the middle of Drayden's house! Gigantic coincidence that a legendary's involved in all this, huh?!"

"We already knew Mew had some influence on that Zorua," Drayden concurred as he sat down. "It's entirely possible that Mew _is_ the Zorua, and there's truly nothing in that Master Ball downstairs."

"N-no…" Skyla denied. "Nox is a Zorua. I can tell."

"Then that Zorua's a goddamn bomb! Think about it! There was a gigantic explosion on Chimney, right? What if it's the same thing that's about to happen here, right on the outskirts of a major city!"

"If Mew truly wanted us dead, she would've killed us on that mountain. If she wanted Opelucid to explode, she would've done so without the fanfare."

"How do you know she's not just fucking around?" Brycen responded. "She's a god, and can do whatever the hell she wants. She's screwing with us because she thinks it's fun!"

"Vulcan," Drayden shifted, "I need you to go to the Nurse's. Now. See if the density readings from Nox's test have returned yet."

"Look," Skyla said as the Haxorus began walking out. "If Mew and Ray had a relationship, then Mew isn't a sociopath. Ray could see the good in people."

"Skyla, just cool it for a second with your blind faith! What could Ray have done when legit a _god_ approached him? Deny her? We have to look at reality here!"

"I am, Brycen, and the way I see it is that Mew's scared, just like the rest of us. Legendaries have been disappearing left and right. Is this really the time for her to screw around like this?!"

"We need to look at facts right now," Drayden interrupted. "What caused the discharge? Something had to have happened."

"It was the Pokéball, obviously," Brycen said.

"Yes, yes, but what caused it specifically? More importantly, was it Nox's intention to break out?"

"He seemed just as surprised as the rest of us."

"Or maybe that's what he wants you to think."

"No matter. Alder is coming, and we now have to deal with covering this up as best as possible. The only option we have, no matter the real reason behind this, is to continue as we always have. I will have Seraph speak to Nox, alone. We must promise now never to mention this in front of him, lest we accidentally set him off again. We have to be careful."

A minute or two of silence. Each Gym Leader was silently contemplating certain theories.

"I suppose a Pokéball wasn't the best idea, then."

Drayden chuckled lightly at Skyla's statement of the obvious.

"No, it just wasn't strong enough. Whatever beast that Zorua has inside of him, even as great a strength as that ball had couldn't contain him. Weakening him may have worked, but we can't be sure. Brycen, I have a special job for you, but first."

Drayden took a moment before silently pointing towards the door to the study. Just then, as if the entire scene was choreographed, Vulcan walked back in with a file in his claw. Without words, the Haxorus handed the report to Drayden.

"Here we are, then," he said, flipping through a few pages before stopping at a specific one. His eyes narrowed.

"What does it say?"

"Ladies and gentlemen, meet Nox. A Zorua with the dormant, unnatural power of the god of all Pokémon."

* * *

"Nox, sweetie?"

I breathed shakily. I was adamant in not revealing myself, even as Seraph entered the room.

"I know it wasn't your fault, honey. Just come out and we can talk about it."

I made no movement to come out from under the bed.

"Just stay away from me," I called out with genuine fear. I had no idea what had caused me to discharge in such a violent manner, and, considering it was completely involuntary, I was afraid of doing it again.

"Misa is fine, hon, don't worry," Seraph put lightly. "You didn't do anything bad, I promise."

Apparently the force of the discharge has been strong enough to knock the Axew out completely. What would I tell her after the fact?

"And the furniture? Well, it's just furniture. It's already all fixed up."

I could see her feet as she passed by the end of the bed and stopped. Her face and beak appeared from above as she bent to see me. I backed away and pressed further into the wall. Only my eyes should have been visible.

"It's not your fault," she reiterated. "We want to help you, sweetie, so please come out and talk to me."

I refused once more.

She sighed.

"Well, I hope there's room for me, then, because I'm coming in."

My eyes widened as the Altaria pressed herself against the ground and scooted under the bed. I was more shocked at her flexibility to notice her approach until she was a mere few feet away.

"I can see why you chose down here. It's rather comfy."

"Seraph, just stop. Please."

She, for once, did as told.

"I'm a freak," I said aloud, venting real concerns of mine. "Everything about me, it's just… I don't want to be the weirdo, I promise, but I just can't help it."

"Nox, tell me what happened, and maybe I can help you not be 'the weirdo', if that's what you want."

"If that's what I want? Of course that's what I want!"

"Being unique isn't always bad, Nox."

"There's a difference between being unique and being dangerous," I exclaimed. Was Seraph really trying to play this situation down as if it was nothing?

"Dangerous? Nox, you didn't hurt anyone."

"Misa was knocked out, and all that stuff I knocked over, and-"

"Like I said, Misa was just shaken up. Everything's fine, I promise."

"But what if it happens again?"

"Well," she said, staring into my eyes with a reassuring gaze, "That's why I want to know what happened, to stop it from happening again. Nox, you're not in trouble."

I looked away for a few moments. It wouldn't hurt in the slightest to tell the truth here. Hell, I myself was terrified, and if Seraph, or anyone could help, I would gladly accept it. Keeping up an act was less important than my safety. I trusted Drayden for his help, at least in this regard.

"There was something bright, something small."

* * *

I was scared, initially, to find Misa missing when I woke the next morning. Seraph had eventually coaxed me out from under the bed, and I slowly calmed myself with the prospect that perhaps the Axew had decided to stay with Seraph and Skipp last night.

 _But she had the whole night to tell them about my secret…_

No, I doubted she ever would, to be honest. Our slave arrangement now was nothing more than a charade, if I was being perfectly frank with myself. I knew not of any true malicious intent on the part of the Axew that would prompt her to tell, but I simply had to be sure.

I found myself even more worried, however, when I realized I hadn't been visited that night.

In Mew's absence, the dream about the dying Zorua took the forefront of my mind. The fact the legendary hadn't spoken to me worried me greatly.

 _Did something happen?_

I doubted as much… She probably simply let my mind rest after the previous day. As expected, my muscles were seemingly as sore as conceivably possible. The incident with the discharge certainly wouldn't have helped my mind relax.

Misa was still missing, however, and such was reason for worry. I let that take the forefront of my mind for the time being.

Groaning with the sweeping ache from the previous day, I rose and hopped off the bed before leaving the room, my mind set on finding Misa.

Seraph had told me the previous night that nothing would change as a result of the discharge. She admitted Drayden had already been suspicious about something going on with me, and she made sure to reassure the point that it wasn't my fault. Multiple times, actually.

I checked the entirety of the residential area of the complex, finding no sign of the Axew. The living room had been effectively put back together. After giving a short peek in all the rooms and rebounding into the main area, however, Skipp walked in from the courtyard.

"She's in the TEC, I think," he said simply upon being asked, "but Nox, I, uh… I don't think you can go."

"What? Why not?" I complained.

"Well, Drayden told you last night about reopening the Gym, right? Misa's in there training with some of the other 'mon right now."

"Oh… What does that mean for me, then?"

"Well, uh. Crag's sorta helping out with lessons like he usually does, but… Hmm…"

It was as if he didn't think this far ahead on a regular basis.

"Skyla's in her room, I guess you can hang out with her if you want? Also, the courtyard's open, if you wanna practice, but I think you're just too noticeable to go into the TEC, Nox… I'm sorry."

I sighed. As long as Skipp seemed clueless regarding my identity, it was safe to say Misa hadn't told anyone. I supposed leaving her alone would give her proper time to contemplate everything, especially while battling. There was nothing she did more adamantly, and if anything was to take her mind off of the situation, that would be it.

I was still quite angry with her about the incident with the Pokéballs. It would be something to talk to her about later. A conversation I was not looking forward to.

I ate a quiet breakfast, alone with the exception of Skipp, who left after a few minutes and headed towards the TEC. I supposed this would be my day-to-day life from then until we escaped, considering not much would change in the daily pattern of the Gym.

If something were to happen with the abrupt openness of the Gym, of which I didn't deny the possibility, I would already be removed from the situation, strategically placed with the other creature in the entire complex capable of doing nothing, Skyla. Misa would be safe, and her being an older and and arguably more capable Pokémon would allow her to be more effectively protected by the members of Drayden's team inside the TEC. Every contingency had been thought of, though for whatever reason, a part of me yearned to be with her.

Not of friendly connectedness, or even acquaintance, but firstly because of my desire to observe her and how she handled my secret, and secondly because, despite my intentions, I had _fun_ battling her. The rush of combat was like nothing ever felt before. Even the power boost of nighttime came nowhere close to how exhilarated I felt using my power to battle.

One benefit, however, to my being left alone, became evident as I scanned my mind for past conversations with Mew.

 _I can finally take a look around and see what else needs to be seen… I can't go into the TEC, obviously, but there's gotta be something hidden here, right?_

The first stop, obviously, was Drayden's bedroom. Misa had brought me there before, and to my knowledge, it was still unlocked. I was affirmed in that regard when, after having finished eating, I walked down one of the hallways branching off of the main living area and encountered the cracked door. I pushed through.

Undoubtedly such a dark room, with shades drawn and no other light sources present, would prove near-impossible for a creature without my inclination for the darkness. Night-vision came handy in this regard, as my eyes automatically adjusted and brightened up the room so I could see even the most minute details of Drayden's organization.

I began my investigation by propping my front paws on the lip of Drayden's bedside table, finding nothing of interest outside of an incredibly large feather. It was pure-white in coloration, and sat carefully on a stand. The feather itself was massive, easily as long as my entire body length-wise, and further leading me to question what kind of bird it had come from. I supposed, however, after thinking for a while on its placement on its own stand, it was simply a souvenir from somewhere Drayden had traveled in the past.

I found nothing else of interest, whether it be in and around the wardrobe situated in the corner of the room, the chest at the foot of his bed, under the bed, or around a large mat on the opposite side of the bed on which I assumed Vulcan slept.

Which left his desk, the desk in which I found the letter from Alder… He was supposed to be coming later that day, I realized. Drayden surely would inform me ahead of time, no?

The desk itself was of great intrigue. The first thing I noticed was the glaringly obvious set of four keys hung up on a rack situated on the surface of the desk. I stared at them for a moment as I imagined what doors they unlocked.

My first disappointment came when I recognized the presence of a locked droor. A key for such a small lock wasn't on the key chain; rather, they were old-fashioned and obviously intended for doors, hopefully somewhere inside the facility.

Where was there a locked door within the residential area?

There was only one, not including Skyla's generally-locked room.

 _Drayden's study. Vulcan told me to never go there, but it's honestly going to have more answers and clues on how to escape than anywhere else._

Another thought crossed my mind.

 _One of the other keys is probably for the basement, wherever the door to that is… Probably in the TEC somewhere, where I've never been able to see it… It's something to ask Misa about, maybe. She's wandered the complex a lot more than I have. Either way, though, finding which key unlocks the basement and getting down there is the first step to helping my team escape._

I left the keys and the locked droor, however, and began poking through the other droors of the desk. I had closed the second and was on to the third when I stopped dead.

"Nox? Nox, where are you?"

I practically dove off of the chair and crouched up against the backside of the wardrobe. Skyla's voice grew closer and closer.

"Nox?"

I could hear the door squeaking as it was pushed open.

 _Oh Arceus, shit! I can't let her find me!_

I could hear her feet tapping against the ground as she began walking around the room. I prayed my fur let me blend in, before realizing the red tuft of fur atop my head would give me away anyways.

As far as I saw it, I had three choices in that instant. The first was to let her find me, which would be the most inopportune, as it would seem like I had something to hide. The second would be simply revealing myself, receive a scolding for exploring where I shouldn't be, and leave it at that. Problems with that, however, would come with a future lack of trust that would disable me from exploring further to help my team.

My last option was to trick her. I'd been practicing certain methods of making different creatures hear certain noises. I was nowhere near as experienced with Illusions as I desired, but I believed the hours of trivial practice I'd thrown into making Pidoves hear sounds from all sides while in Timberline would help me here.

So, I, as inconspicuously as possible, created a connection with Skyla. Concentrating my very hardest to throw a faint mental bark, similar to that of Somin's which I remembered from times past, I clenched my eyes shut, before tentatively pushing it through.

Skyla's head turned instantly upon recognition of the Illusion. I prayed she hadn't seen through the ruse.

I nearly sighed in relief as she quickly exited the room, calling out my name. She had heard my Illusion, and I hoped I'd thrown my voice far enough away as to confuse her long enough to escape.

Tentatively, I peeked my head out into the doorway and watched as he rounded the corner into the living area. I nearly sprinted out from cover as soon as he disappeared from sight, hooking a left down an adjacent hallway that looped around to the other side of the residential area.

It was then I began calling out Skyla's name with my physical voice, now feeling secure I was far enough away from Drayden's room to make up an excuse as to why I didn't initially answer her calls.

I ran into the Gym Leader as I'd almost rounded back around to the living area. She made no indication towards her suspicions regarding me, if any existed. I finally let my guard down as she greeted me with a smile.

As Skipp had suggested, I relaxed and spent time with Skyla for a little while, who was going out of her way to act as if the events of the previous night were nonexistent. We sat on the couch in the living room and spoke for a while via Illusion.

She told me all about her Gym in Mistralton, information I obviously knew myself, though the sole act of her listening to talk was reassuring.

She eventually got onto the topic of human-me, however, and how I had acted before everything had gone downhill. She told me the story of my becoming a trainer, told me in her own words on how she thought me kind and caring.

"Ray's parent's weren't the greatest of people, but he didn't let that stop him," she said at one point. "When he turned ten and was allowed to get his license to train Pokémon, there was nothing in the world he wanted more."

She chuckled for a moment.

"Part of that's my fault. I'm the one that introduced him to Pokémon in the first place. His parents weren't exactly happy with me."

" _Why?_ " I asked, feigning ignorance. It was important I kept up my act.

"Well, they didn't like Pokémon, for whatever reason. His dad was a really big-time businessman, and his mom, well. Her and I are sisters, and we never really did get along well when I was little. She married around the same time I got my first Pokémon. I really wish you could have met them. My team is great, and really nice, too."

"Well, I… I'm not the best of people in the world. I've done a ton of bad things, believe it or not, and as horrible as it is to say, one of them was helping Ray become a trainer."

I was intrigued. I knew to what she was referring, but I never knew she had second thoughts about it.

"I acted like I was his parent," she said simply, explaining the long-ago event as if it were now trivial. "I signed the papers that let him become a trainer, when I wasn't supposed to. He chose Vita as his first Pokémon, left, and never looked back. His parents, well… I guess in the end they thought he would come back to them on his own and admit he was wrong when training got tough."

" _But he never did,_ " I finished the story.

"No, he never did," Skyla smiled widely. "He made it all the way to the Eighth Gym and beyond. You would have been so lucky to have him as your trainer, Nox."

I nodded solemnly.

"You're very special, do you know that? I don't just mean what happened last night, I mean… In general. You're going to do great things one day, Nox, I guarantee it."

I went about my day afterwards with a sense of disconnect. We eventually grew bored of talking, and Skyla requested I showed her what I'd learned with Crag the previous day.

After we both headed out into the courtyard, I would go about gathering dozens of fallen leaves from the nearly-bare trees within the area and make a decently-sized pile, which I would promptly maneuver around as if it and I were locked in combat, before finding a clever and creative way to attack it with energy.

Of course, forcibly discharging energy directly into the middle of the pile caused it to explode in a billion different directions. I would spend the next few minutes afterwards picking up leaves individually with my mouth and recreating another pile.

While I can't say I had the most fun in the world, I felt rather excited about the prospect of growing more and more in battle prowess. There was a chance I would need battle skill soon, and I surely didn't want to disappoint. This was what everyone wanted, was it not? Perhaps one of the only things both my team and Drayden's agreed with.

Skipp returned to the courtyard after lunch from the TEC. We'd eaten, and Skyla had come back outside to watch me screwing around with my leaves. The Flygon, after telling me he could take a break from the Gym, offered to teach me a few tricks.

The first was what he called 'pinpointing', in which he instructed me to charge my paw, but go on to condense the energy as tightly as possible through a single point. The obvious choice was one of my claws.

" _That's_ an attack," he encouraged as I marveled at the no-longer-dull glow to emanate from the small area as a result. It was white now, rather than the purple it's been prior. "An actual move, instead of just discharging energy in your opponent. Soon you'll be able to charge all your claws, and boom. You've just made your first Scratch."

My hopes fell for a moment in non-maskable disappointment.

"Something up?"

"Scratch, that's it?"

"You'll get better, sure. Everyone starts somewhere, and if you're battling people in your skill group, then usually Scratch is all you need."

"But Scratch is a normal-type move," I challenged, able to cite some educational sort of TV show if Skipp were to ask how I knew. "And Crag said I was charging myself with Dark-type energy… How does that work?"

"It's kinda confusing, but when you pinpoint, a lot of the extra stuff in your energy that makes it Dark-type just get squeezed out, leaving a base energy behind. When your energy get stronger and more dense, you naturally learn to keep your energy Dark-type, even after you pinpoint. Got me?"

I nodded simply, forcibly discharging my claw into the dirt below.

"Here. Follow me."

He led me to one of the bare trees in the courtyard, all aspen by the looks of them. Their stark, white branches shifted lazily in the light breeze.

"Try charging your paw as much as possible and pinpointing into two claws at a time."

I gave him an affirmation, and pushed myself beyond normal means to charge my paw with an extra bit of power. The amount required to pinpoint it into either claw was still too high to load them both simultaneously. I pushed further, however, and forced the energy into place. While I succeeded in charging both claws with a considerable amount of power, either one held nowhere near the luminosity as the singular charged claw before.

"Neat thing about charging, you don't feel as tired as usual, right?"

"No, I guess not."

"Yeah. When your body's using energy through charging and attacking, your core starts working harder to replace what's left behind. It doesn't do that when you use Illusions, though, or are hurt by another attack. It's like… It's like your core uses your momentum in battle to help you. You attack, it rewards you with more energy."

"Huh," I replied simply, nodding my head. I was glad, otherwise I may not have been able to keep up as well as I had.

"Your muscles are where energy is stored most of the time, and as your body slowly becomes used to charging and moving around energy, you get better. Your muscles will be able to store more energy, letting you charge your attacks with more strength and letting your reserves grow so you can last longer in a fight. Another reason to keep, training, right?"

"Sure."

"Okay then. Scratch that tree for me."

I raised an eyebrow for a moment. Was there a reason for this? It wasn't as if I was fully grown and capable of cutting down the aspen in one fell swoop.

"Just try it. You don't know what'll happen until you try, right?"

I tentatively raised my paw and went through the confused motions of tapping the tree with my two charged claws. Skipp stopped me before I made contact, however.

"Don't tap it. Actually Scratch it."

"I'll tear out my claw before I make a dent in it," I objected.

"No, no no no," Skipp corrected, chuckling lightly. "Here, I'll show you."

He reached out with his short arms and placed a single, white claw tip against the similar, uncolored wood. It began shining the telltale gold-tinted royal blue of draconian energy.

I could tell he hardly applied any pressure afterwards as his claw pressed into the wood and made a considerable hole.

"Energy is a strong, even if it's untrained. Remember that. As long as they're charged, your claws can cut through a lot. Don't hold back, and neither will your energy."

I charged the same two claws again and looked at him expectantly.

"Don't hold back."

I nodded tentatively before facing the tree once more. I narrowed my gaze at a single, spot, raised my front leg with a forced sense of confidence, and swung down.

The bark cut like butter, simply. I was about halfway through my swing when I registered I'd succeeded. In my shock at the moment, I accidentally forcibly discharged into the tree itself, leaving my claws with no energy, and rendering them stuck about a quarter inch below the surface. I quickly pinpointed once more in order to become unstuck and withdraw, disappointed.

"Well, I think that's a good lesson in following through, I guess… Good job anyways."

I sent him a quick nod of understanding and thanks.

We continued on afterward for quite a long time, partaking in certainly a much more enjoyable training experience than the one the previous day.

After another hour or two, however, of me simply trying to land attacks in new, creative ways on Skipp, he told me he had to head back into the TEC, as he had snuck away and Drayden was soon to start wondering where he was. Left alone with about an hour or two before the Gym closed for the day, I resigned to rest, walking inside.

Skyla had since come back inside, watching a dramatic series on the television, the name of which escaped me. I joined her happily for the next segment of time until Brycen of all people entered through the courtyard.

"Drayden told me to come and get you two," he said simply, already halfway back out the door. "I guess our _guest of honor_ is here."


	21. Human

**l**

 **Chapter XX - Human**

* * *

"Oh, _man_ , is it great to be back in town! You're lucky, Drayden, a real lucky guy. You get to have your Gym in Opelucid!"

I could hear a deep, exclamatory, even jovial voice as Skyla carried me while following Brycen into the lobby.

"Well well well, here we are!" the voice exclaimed as we came into view. "Backup's arrived, everyone."

Nobody was laughing except Alder. All of Drayden's dragons were present, with Misa situated between them. She sent me a glare upon arriving, but I chose to ignore it. Drayden himself was standing next to Alder as he went about speaking to a dead crowd.

"Brycen! I coulda guessed Skyla, but the gang's all here, huh?"

The man was nearly as large as Drayden, and nearly as old to boot. His flamboyantly colored and styled red and orange hair could have just as easily been mistaken for a headdress. Resting under black, gigantic eyebrows was an old and soft face, wrinkled with age, unlike Drayden's. He wore his Pokéballs on a string around his neck; they jostled about whenever he moved.

"Yeah, I guess we are," Brycen responded, stepping forward and shaking Alder's hand without any other pleasantries exchanged.

"And Skyla," Alder said, letting a smile grow on his face, "how're you holdin' up? Good, I hope?"

I could feel Skyla's grip tighten around me as a scowl surely formed on her face.

"Guess emotions are still hot. No matter! It's great to see all of you, really. It isn't often I'm able to get away from HQ, so times like this are a real treat."

I saw Crag roll his eyes outside of the Champion's view. I had a good chuckle at that.

It seemed, however, Alder noticed me as a result. His smile faded somewhat.

"Well hello there," he said, addressing me with a nod of his head. "I don't think we've been acquainted."

"You're not going to, either," Skyla intervened. "He's just a kit."

Alder, ignoring Drayden's condescending glare and Skyla's adamancy against the notion, stepped forward before reaching a hand out and tussling about the fur on my head. I shook myself vigorously afterwards.

"Come, come," Alder invited jovially afterwards, "It's been so long since we've caught up!"

Happily, the Champion led the way down the hall and towards the courtyard. Everyone left in the lobby exchanged a troubled glance.

Drayden was the first to follow, shooting me a few words as he passed.

"If he touches you, or even so much as comes near you again, I want to hear about it."

I nodded apprehensively. The encounter was… Surprising, to say the least. This man was certainly not the one who wrote the letter Misa and I had found.

Skyla, with me still in her arms, was the last to leave before Vulcan, who acted as caboose. Crag, as usual, was put on night watch, and went about his business in the TEC as the rest of us left.

Skyla's grip on me never once lessened until she was reminded by Drayden, upon nearly getting to the door leading into the kitchen, to let Misa and I go about our business.

They dropped us off in the courtyard with strict instructions for us not to interrupt them. I turned towards Misa with a scowl as the door to the kitchen closed behind them.

"What is your deal?!" I yelled, hoping the meeting humans and dragons inside hadn't heard me. Misa narrowed her gaze.

"The hell do you mean? What's _your_ deal?!"

"You let yourself get captured! Do you have any idea what that means?!"

"Yeah, I do, and you didn't let yourself get captured. You ignored my order, shortstack, and attacked me after! How's that for following orders?"

"Screw your damn orders! Misa, you're not going to be able to escape! Why didn't you trust me?!"

"Because I think you're wrong."

"You what?"

"You're wrong, _Ray_. Wrong about all that stuff about Seraph, and Drayden. They want to _help_ us!"

"No they don't! Misa, you don't get it! I want to trust you, and let you help, but listen! They tried capturing us to keep a leash on us! Not because they didn't want us getting captured."

"They don't lie, Ray."

"No, they make you _think_ they don't lie, but they do, Misa. They lie all the time. About _everything_. You wanna know the truth, though? Drayden is corrupt, working for someone who's just doing all this for personal gain! He'd just as easily reject the league as he would work for it! And, if he does have good intentions, why are they so secretive about everything! They don't want us knowing, Misa, because then we would know the truth about them and try to leave!"

"You're being paranoid, Ray."

"Paranoid?! I'm being realistic! Shit is going down, Misa, and you can't hesitate when the time comes to get out of here!"

She approached aggressively, getting into my face in a means of intimidation. Despite my lack of height on her, I held my ground to the best of my ability.

"Shut up, alright? I'll trust whoever the hell I want, because they've done what it takes to get it. You, though, what have you _ever_ done for me? You're a shit slave, you're a shit Zorua, and I'd bet everything you were a shit h-AAH!"

I jumped back as well, easily as surprised as the Axew. I wasn't able to tell much of what had happened, but I was sure something had crashed into the ground just a few feet next to us.

I stumbled backwards with the Axew as a rush of air blew over us. Whatever had just landed, it had done so with the least amount of noise possible.

Misa began yelling randomly, hoping to draw the attention of the people inside. I myself simply backed away as the anomaly recovered and darted towards her. Her shouts were muffled as it covered her mouth.

"Shut up, _shut up_ ," a male voice rose from the figure. I was ready to leap forwards and attack, a paw already charged with energy.

However, the voice was instantly recognizable. My attack fizzled out of existence in the same amount of time it had taken to manifest.

"Jet!" I yelled happily, darting forwards and leaping towards the Braviary. He reeled when I made contact, falling back ever so slightly and away from Misa.

"The hell you doing?" he hissed as I rolled and corrected myself.

"Arceus, you have no idea how glad I am to see you!"

"Sure, yeah, but what part of 'stealthy' don't you get? Trying to tackle me is a real way to make sure we're found out."

"Where have you been?! Brycen stayed up on the mountain looking for you!"

"And he never found me. I trailed you guys to Timberline, and after you left for Opelucid it took me a few days to fly here. Just blind luck you ended up at the Gym, and not somewhere else, because then I would've been completely lost. I got here yesterday, and just waited until I could get you both alone to talk to."

He shook himself off before redirecting his attention towards Misa. She looked back up at him with beaming eyes.

"But you two look like you get along a ton. Of course you're fighting when I get out here."

I rolled my eyes.

"Okay, I don't have a ton of time, so we're gonna do this quick," he redirected, turning towards the recovering Axew. "Misa, didn't I tell you not to go to the cave?"

"Y-yeah, but-"

"Don't pull that with me," he scowled, "I was out looking for you the night you got captured. Why did you go to the cave when I told you not to?!"

"You said you had a fire! I… I just… I was really cold, and I ran out of those Berries, and-"

"Wait, she wasn't lying?" I interjected, "You two actually know each other?!"

"I went to go and check on her the day after you guys got into your little fight," Jet explained, never once taking his glare off the Axew. "Found her frozen. Ray, I couldn't just leave her alone."

"That's what you were doing all the time you left! You were hanging out with her!"

"Yeah, and I saved her life. And she saved yours."

I could see the embarrassment on Misa's face. Despite her best efforts to be independent, Jet was the only reason she was alive. She was acting as if I was going to tease her for accepting the help.

"Why didn't you _tell_ us. We wouldn't have cared! Hell, we probably would've helped!"

"Because there was already enough going on without Vita having to fuss over some random dragon that I thought I was able to handle. She already had one stupid hatchling to worry about."

The words stung. Jet obviously wasn't in the mood for my reprimands, so I bit my tongue when a jab back at him formed. The Braviary exchanged glances with Misa for a moment.

"Plus, she said she didn't want to stay with us. 'Oh, I wanna be independent,' and all that jazz."

He paused for a moment, closing his eyes.

"Does she know?"

I nodded after deducing what he meant. Misa knew I was human, and Jet wanted to verify before continuing.

"Alright… Let's forget about what happened so we can plan something."

"No point," I responded. "The entire team's locked away below the Gym. Until I figure out how I can get down there, any plan we make is gonna be useless."

"No, it's not," he said, "Mew talked to me last night, in my head."

"Wait, really?!"

"Yeah… I stopped on the other side of the hill here last night and slept in a cave I found. She came along, told me all about what's going on, and showed me some important stuff to help us out. We figured out that the underground is all just one, gigantic cave system. And I found the entrance!"

Jet gave a tentative look around. Afterwards, he ushered Misa and I into a corner of the courtyard, where he could hide should the door leading to the residential area open.

"Were you able to find the team?" I asked hopefully as he led us to a darker area.

"No, it's waaaay too gigantic in there to find anything. The tunnels've gotta be miles long."

"Okay… So… Where do we go from there, then?"

"I don't know, but at the very least we have a real escape plan. I'm gonna be scoping out the scene for the next few days, see if I can solve the maze and find Mew. If I can, she should be able to teleport all of us out of this ditch. Do you know how to get to the caves from inside Drayden's house?"

"No, I was actually going to ask Misa if she knew…"

Both heads turned towards the flustered Axew.

"Me? Why me?"

"You've had more time to look around the TEC than me," I responded. "Have you seen any way to get down to the basement?"

"Uhh… No? I've seen every room in that place, and the basement wasn't there."

"Okay then. If that's not it, then that means the entrance is either secret, or it's behind the only locked door left in this place."

"Drayden's study-thing?" Misa confirmed, "You sure?"

"Not at all. It'd be really weird to have stairs in there, but that's really our only choice."

"I overheard your argument just now. Misa, do they trust you?"

The Axew seemed flustered with the question. "I-I…"

"Is there someone you can ask about where the stairs might be?"

"Skipp!" I exclaimed nearly instantly afterwards. "He sucks under pressure! If we pester him enough, I'm sure he'll slip and tell us where it is!"

"Skipp?"

"Drayden's Flygon, long story."

"Okay, here's the deal then. Whenever you figure out where the basement is and how to get down there, leave something red under that bench over there," Jet instructed, pointing a wing towards the wooden bench. "It's as simple as this. I'll keep looking in the caves, checking every night to see if you signaled. If I find Mew, it's as simple as getting her to take us away. If you find the entrance to the caves through Drayden, though, and signal me, here's what I'll do."

* * *

"Hoo, 'bout time we hit the hay, huh? I don't know about you guys, but I'm bushed after today."

I pushed in the door after making absolutely sure Jet had taken off and was long gone. Misa, disturbed, followed me silently.

All conversation fell as we passed the wall and came into full view of the humans and Pokémon inhabiting the living room. I froze as all heads turned towards us.

"We're just going to bed," Misa explained, pushing past me and making her way down the hallway without any further words. I followed her quietly, head hanging and eartips burning in timidity.

"Well, if you're tired, I'm sure we'll be glad to leave you be for the night," Drayden addressed Alder as I left his view. "Although, I'm afraid all the guest rooms have been taken. The couch is rather comfy, however, I must say."

The humor of the situation only increased as I realized Misa and I were the sole occupants of one of the guest rooms. Drayden assured our sleeping conditions before he did the Champion's.

"Don't think that whole thing with Jet is gonna stop us from talking," Misa said as I shut the door behind us. I hopped onto the bed and settled down, thinking of a rebuttal.

"Well, we have a plan now, and I'm blaming you if it goes downhill because you let yourself get captured. You really should listen to me about these things, Misa. I know I look small, but I know thousands of times more information about the human world than you do."

"We'll see who's right," she simply said, turning away and sitting down. "But you still attacked me."

"On accident. Even I have no idea what that was about."

"We're square, then. I won't give your stupid secret away, even though you attacked me, but you have to not be mad at me for making up my own mind for once."

I looked at the Axew incredulously in the darkness. She had since laid down, her head turned away.

"'Stupid secret'? Fine. If you don't want to escape with me, then my all means, stay. I couldn't care less. You've been nothing but shit the entire time I've known you. Stay here and rot, because I sure as hell don't want you coming with me."

I myself turned away, pouting, and closed my eyes. Misa was making no indication she would respond, leaving me in a conflicting sense of victory.

It was a lie, plain and simple. I was not completely impartial to whether or not she tagged along. Despite my best efforts to feel otherwise, I couldn't help it.

Yet, there was a sort of petty sense of accomplishment in which I felt as if I'd had the last word. Though, a new feeling was soon to rise up.

That of guilt. My face wrinkled as the full implications of what I'd said hit my conscience. My face burned.

"Misa, I didn't mean that. I'm sorry."

I couldn't help but apologize. I'd come off much more harsh than I'd meant.

"Don't be. You made your point."

"No, that wasn't my point… You're annoying as all hell, sure, but you're…"

I sighed.

"You're an okay Pokémon. Average, maybe even a little bit decent. You've helped me a ton more than you should've, and… Just, I didn't mean what I said, alright?"

I said nothing more, instead turning back around and laying my head down. A few more moments passed in silence.

"Look who came around, huh? So you think I'm okay now, is that it?"

I lifted my head to see she had since turned over and was staring at me on her side.

"Pfft, no. I just said that so you'd cheer up."

"Mmm… Sure."

I rolled my eyes, unable to restrain my gladness at the prospect of her lack of hatred towards me. I didn't want her to hate me. Some part of me loathed seeing her truly, seriously angry.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then, runt."

"You too, pipsqueak."

* * *

I pursed my lips in mock anger as another bit of food bounced off my head and hit the ground. I shot an inconspicuous glance towards Misa as she, very deliberately, picked out another piece and flicked it towards me.

Acting quicker this time, I raised my head and caught it mid air with my mouth, swallowing it in a single bite. I licked my lips afterwards, bringing my gaze back down towards the Axew. I made sure to include as much bloodlust as I could in my stare, hoping to mimic the demeanor of a creature such as Crag in an aloof parody.

"Really scary," she taunted, absentmindedly picking another piece and whizzing it towards me. I caught it yet again.

"Misa, don't throw your food," Seraph chided. Misa shot her a dejected look.

"It's about time you go to your lessons, anyways. Say goodbye to Nox."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'll see you later, shortstack."

"Bye," I absentmindedly responded through a mouthful of food.

It was to be yet another boring day without the Axew to keep me entertained. However, I had a job to do.

And that job involved a certain Flygon that was coincidentally exiting one of the hallways and headed towards the door.

"Hey Skipp! Wait!"

He turned around, sending me a questioning glance. He seemed in no rush, as he fully turned and asked, "Yeah, Nox?"

I decided to put it bluntly, hoping to lay all the information on him at once and further pressure him.

"Can you, uhh… Show me the basement? I've been wondering about it for a while, and… Yeah…"

I couldn't think of anything better to say. No lie I could conjure would justify better his allowance of me near my team.

"Please?"

"Hey, I gotta go right now, so maybe, uhh… Maybe another time? I can show you around myself."

"I'm not doing anything today anyways," I caught his attention as he turned to leave. "You can just tell me where it is, and I'll check it out for myself."

Skipp chuckled for a moment nervously.

"It's probably not the best, Nox… It's not the safest place in the world down there. You could get pretty hurt."

"What?"

"Wild Pokémon. It's… Kind of an open place that they hang out, and even I don't go down there unless I really need to."

"Oh… Well, can you just tell me where it is so I know?"

He chuckled again, this time wholeheartedly.

"Nox, what's the real reason you want to go down there?"

"Huh?"

"You've never been a real 'explorer', if you get what I mean… So, what I'm guessing is that you overheard something you weren't supposed to."

I folded my ears against my head. He hadn't found out my true intentions, but it was important I molded my behavior to act as if my true intentions were those I was about to be lectured on.

"It's alright if you miss your friends, Nox, but I can't let you down there. Not with Alder here, at least."

"It's just so boring here… I can't do anything, and it's been such a long time since I've seen them," I complained, allowing the smallest bit of my actual thoughts to shine.

"Hey, hey. I know how you feel."

He ducked down to stare me in the eyes comfortingly.

"Don't tell anyone I told you," he said secretively, "But Drayden said he's gonna let you see your friends after Alder leaves if you're on your best behavior."

"Really?"

My eyes lit up involuntarily before absorbing the implications of the explanation. It was Drayden at the helm here. He had to have some ulterior motive.

"But you gotta follow Drayden's rules here. Look, I'm not supposed to tell you this, but Crag has the day off today and is gonna take you to a safe place to train."

"Huh," I responded simply. My feelings about the Druddigon were mixed, at best, but the prospect of training always succeeded in exciting me tremendously.

"He's probably the most busy out of any of us, to be honest, so I don't really know how often you're gonna get to do this. Anyways, though, try to enjoy yourself today… The last thing I want is for you to feel left out.

"Okay," I smiled as Skipp reached down and ruffled my fur before heading out towards the Gym.

I was left alone again in a matter of seconds, stuck in a quiet and empty house.

* * *

Crag eyed Vulcan as he closed the steel door. It was part of his duties to provide food for Ray's team, and the Haxorus decided to confront him down in the caves, of all places.

"Don't think I didn't notice you talking to Seraph about the plan behind Drayden's back," the Haxorus initiated, waiting as the Druddigon turned around.

"Jeez, _that's_ what this's about? Damn, Vulcan, I thought you were gonna come and yell at me about the fifteen other things I've already done wrong today…"

"The whole point was to shake him up! He's been nothing but coddled the entire time he's been here, and the first night after you teach him, we have an explosion! We had a real reaction and an actual _clue_ as to what's going on! You want to discard all of those results entirely?"

"So, lemme get this straight. You _want_ him to blow up the whole house? Didn't take ya for that kind of dude."

"Don't take what I say out of context," Vulcan threatened, advancing on the Druddigon. "If you have a problem with Drayden and Vicus' plan, you take it up with them, not gossip with Seraph like you're a hatchling!"

"It's bullshit, and people need to know," Crag snorted, fuming whle taking a cautious step back. "We've gone way too light on this for _way_ too long. And with Alder here, someone's gonna find something out eventually. It'd be so much safer and easier if we just had the kid come down here himself."

"You think he'll tell anything to _Vicus_ without influence? Have you ever seen Vicus? I know the answer, but the fact you just suggested something so numbingly stupid just confounds me."

"What, it's not like the kid's gonna know to be scared or anything like that. Vicus ain't _that_ scary. He's just… Big."

"You have no regard at all for how important of an operation this is! Have you forgotten why Vicus decided to help Mew in the first place?!"

"Pfft. Help her. Doing tons of help, keeping her in a damn ball on a stand in the middle of the dark."

"Vicus can't talk to her directly. She'll kill him. He may put up a good fight, but she can and will _kill him_. Vicus. Dead. Is that what you want? It's not as if he can let her in his mind either, to try and explain anything, because she'll just find another way to kill him from the inside out!"

"Look, all I'm sayin' is that Mew isn't stupid. I don't think she would kill 'im, especially with all the legendaries disappearin' everywhere. She's smart enough to know that Vicus knows more about the UPF than anyone."

"She's been stuck in a single, confined place, possibly for the first time ever. I can guarantee nothing will stop her from killing whatever she wants when she gets out. Mew doesn't think the same as us, Crag…"

Vulcan let a scowl form on his place as he continued. "You know what? I take that back. She's nearly as impulsive as you yourself."

"Ouch," the Druddigon replied sarcastically. "Someone's feeling feisty."

He walked down a tunnel for a little while, followed intently by Vulcan. He was determined to get Crag to admit defeat.

"The only way to get to her is through Nox," Vulcan explained on deaf ears. "Hasn't Drayden briefed us all on this? Nox is our only option. He's the only one that will speak to Mew on our behalf. If we can get him to trust us, Mew might actually listen to what Vicus has t-"

"I don't care at this point. I ain't helping with this whole 'experiment' crap, and I think Drayden's getting tired of it too. Skipp and Seraph actually like the hatchlings now, so guess what, Vulcan?"

Crag stopped suddenly and turned on his heel, looking up at the Haxorus with a smug face.

"You're the only one even close to being on board with this stupid plan anymore. Maybe you should learn to let things go."

They'd made their way into a gigantic cavern. The stairs leading up into the Gym was close nearby. Both dragons sized the other up, Vulcan's face slowly filling with malice. Crag played the situation down, cocking a single brow confidently.

"Thanks for the scolding, but I'm not one of those hatchlings, and you're not Drayden, no matter how much you wanna be. Maybe if you tried harder to be your own dragon, instead of just doing whatever he does, I would respect you more. On the other hand…"

Crag spat and turned to leave, continuing to speak as he walked out.

"Your words mean shit. Vicus is smart. He'll figure out my way's the best way eventually, or we're all gonna get killed first."

"Answer me one thing if you're going to totally discard everything I've told you," Vulcan called after him, remaining still.

Crag stopped for a moment, exasperatedly turning around and eyeing the Haxorus.

"We abide by your plan and take Nox directly to Vicus. What if it's all a trap? We've seen him _discharge_ with enough force to knock over furniture. Imagine what would happen if he _actually_ exploded."

Crag remained silent. Vulcan finished by lowering his voice and narrowing his eyes.

"I want to trust you'll do the right thing, but if Vicus' safety is on the line, I will stop you."

* * *

"Hey, little buddy, how're you doing?"

I turned apprehensively to see Alder walking out from Drayden's house, into the courtyard where I rested. I'd since decided to lay down on the bench after exhausting myself in trying to find things to do. I nodded towards him, hoping to convey any feelings towards the Champion except loathing. If I were to remain ambiguous, I had to act neutral in the conflict.

"I'm guessing you got left out of everything, huh? Bit too young to be practicing in the Gym?"

I blinked a few times, giving no answer.

"Ah, that's alright. I'm sure you'll love battling when you start. I know I did."

He, without invitation, sat down on the empty section of the bench next to me. I didn't like where this was going. If I didn't know any better, I could have just as easily mistaken Alder for the nice, jolly personality he made an effort in constructing. I'd read his letter to Drayden, and I knew this was only yet another enemy I had to lie to.

Drayden's instructions to tell him if Alder approached me rang in my head. I had to pick the lesser of two evils here, and opted to side with Drayden. I would have to figure out how to go about the conversation with Alder first, however, to avoid suspicion.

"This what you do normally around here? Has to be boring without any other hatchlings to play with, huh?"

I nodded, exasperated with the fact this conversation was taking place.

"Well, what if I told Drayden to get you some friends to play with?"

I looked at him oddly. He smiled heartily for a moment, prompting me to turn away again.

"You know… Drayden might seem like a big and scary guy, but here's something you might not know… I'm _Drayden's_ boss."

I looked at him again, feigning confusion.

"Yeah, even big, scary Drayden has to listen to me… And I know he's not been treating you the best."

I was quick to avert my gaze. I didn't like the pressure this conversation was rapidly placing on me.

"So, if you ever feel like he's not treating you right, feel free to tell me. You won't get in trouble, I promise… While we're on that, though, I was curious. Did you ever know a human named Ray Alston?"

I instantly shook my head. Drayden had publicly made an alibi for both Misa and I, using a lack of given information to imply we had no contacts with Ray or the team whatsoever. Even if he didn't tell me to do so explicitly, this was one of those rare instances in which I opted to side with Drayden. He may have been frustratingly evasive, but even though my trust for him was minimal, it was leaps and bounds greater than that I gave to Alder.

The Champion chuckled for a moment heartily. "Is that because you didn't, or you were told to say you didn't?"

I sent him a questioning glance.

"It's alright to tell me if Drayden told you to say specific things to me. Again, I'm his boss, and he has to listen to me."

I shook my head again. Alder sighed.

"Well, if you ever want to tell me something, I'll be here for a while. Come and talk sometime, I'd really like that."

Much in the same fashion as the day before, he reached down and roughly tussled the fur on my head.

"Also," he said, grabbing something from his back pocket and tossing it onto the bench as he left towards the TEC. "I found this, and I saw you were bored, so I grabbed it for you. Go wild."

I sighed quietly as he turned his back to leave, sending an apprehensive glance towards the item, a toy, he'd thrown onto the bench. I left it be without second thought as I entered back into the kitchen to try and find Skyla.

* * *

"You said he what?"

" _He asked me if you told me to say specific things to make you look good._ "

"And your response?"

I shook my head. " _I said no…_ "

Drayden sighed, relieved. "You shouldn't lie, but I myself would be lying if I didn't say I'm grateful you told him nothing."

"I don't like this," Skyla complained as she stood by the door. I'd told her first, and she seemed quick to take me straight to Drayden thereafter. We had walked through the TEC, in which I tried attracting as little attention as possible. A Gym Leader, however, holding the world's most famous Zorua was certainly a magnet for stares.

"Alder should be nowhere near him," Skyla continued. "He's just a kit!"

"I say the same. Nox, I'm going to try and keep you occupied from now on, and away from Alder. If he talks to you, just keep acting clueless. Can you do that for me?"

I nodded sincerely. My stomach felt weird around the Champion. Despite his joyful and relaxed demeanor, I knew the power he held and the danger we were all in should any information regarding my presence become known. I resigned myself to form a temporary truce with Drayden, despite my lack of trust for the man. At the very least, he was supporting the idea that I was innocent in the whole ordeal, while Alder was the main driving force behind the league's adamancy to find me and condemn me for what I didn't do.

"I mean, everything about him is just giving me anxiety right now," Skyla said, seeing a window to rant about the Champion. "Like, haven't you noticed that he hasn't even released his team yet? I thought they were close with each other, but all he's done is keep them in their balls."

"It's an investigation, Skyla, not a regular visit. He wants to keep his team on hand at all times in case the situation goes south, which it very well may. Brycen has pledged to help us, however. If all else fails, we do have a failsafe."

"Oh right, the awe, the raw power, the might of Vicus!" Skyla responded sarcastically, peeved at the fact she had never even met the man who seemed to be influencing Drayden.

Drayden chuckled. "He's pretty choosy about who he associates with… I'm sure, though, when this whole mess sorts itself out, we can all have a meeting."

He seemed to direct the last part of that phrase directly towards me. I slipped right back into my suspicion regarding Drayden's mysteriousness.

"If that's everything, then Skyla, you can take Nox back through to my house. Don't bother engaging with anyone, tensions are rather high."

Skyla nodded, walking forwards and picking me up from my underarms. I didn't resist.

"Altaria will escort you both back to the living quarters. She should be just right outside.

I blinked a few times, wondering to myself why Drayden hadn't simply used Seraph's nickname. I'd heard him use his dragon's nicknames before… Perhaps it was Skyla's presence? I got the fact that it was dragon tradition, or whatever, to only share one's name with close friends and family, but nicknames? Were those secret as well? It was hard to wrap my head around.

" _Drayden, can I ask you something?"_ I proposed. I pushed the whole mystery about the nicknames of his dragons out of mind as something else occupied my thinking space. It was about time I started putting pressure on the Gym Leader.

He seemed surprised, but simply leaned forward and nodded towards me.

" _Your dragons… You can understand them, can't you?_ "

"You find it odd?"

" _Uh… Yeah? Humans can't understand Pokemon._ "

Drayden chuckled.

"Well, that's a rather long story. When you're as old as I am, however, and have lived with dragons your entire life like I have, you could say the linguistic barriers between us are… Dulled."

Seraph opened the door as I eyed the Gym Leader up and down. She asked me specifically if everything was alright, to which I answered an affirmative as I reluctantly turned and approached her.

Skyla, after shooting Drayden much the same, unbelieving stare I myself wore, followed us out.

* * *

"Hey pipsqueak! Time to go!"

I looked up towards the door to the TEC, instantly excited as I heard Misa's voice over the squeaks of the chewtoy Alder had left. I couldn't stop myself from indulging after returning from my meeting with Drayden and left with nothing to do. It was oddly intriguing, and I felt more of the animal side of me rule in this scenario rather than my human side. It felt quite nice to bite down on the tough rubber, as I was still teething and prone to toothaches.

"Where'd you find that?" Misa asked. I spat out the toy and jogged towards her.

"Doesn't matter. Arceus, you know I'm bored when I'm happy to see you."

"Yeah yeah, whatever. It's time to go, though! Skipp said we're going to a special place to finally have our rematch! A fair one, this time."

My tail began involuntarily wagging. I could feel a rising sense of excitement in my chest, ringing alarm bells in the human side of my mind. I suppressed them rather quickly. Nothing would stop me from enjoying the euphoric rush of battle, and I'd done next to nothing the entire day.

Like a godsend, Skipp stepped out of the door behind Misa, smiling and contentedly shaking his head as he found us conversing excitedly.

"Hey, I heard Crag never showed up today. Sorry about that Nox, he got kinda busy with a few things… I'd watch out if I were you, though, if you're fixing to fight Misa. She's been doing pretty good for herself."

"Don't try and talk him out of it!" Misa jabbed, accusingly.

"I can still take her," I challenged back, feeling my muscles lock as I ducked into a playful position. I couldn't stop shaking, and further suppressed the blaring alarms going off in my head. Something was wrong.

"It'll be more than fighting," Skipp cut into the exchange of challenges and playful insults to ensue. "Sure, there'll be sparring, but you guys still gotta learn technique."

Both of us ignored the Flygon, instead enjoyably bickering with one another about who would win. I knew, deep down, Misa would crush me. However, I was confident in my ability to at least fight back. If I was to be knocked out? Who cared? Even being knocked into unconsciousness felt great, as long as it was a fight and not a one-sided slaughter. I knew Misa didn't truly want to hurt me.

"Hmm… Well, we could get going, or sit here and keep ignoring me for a while, if that's what you want."

Misa and I, after exchanging a quick glance, rapidly fell into line. I sat attentively while she straightened her back. We were both instantly silent to hear what the Flygon had to say.

* * *

"Alright, uh… Try keeping your center of gravity in your chest. It helps a lot."

"Easy for you to say," I muttered under my breath as I took another go at the maneuver. After charging my hind paws until I could feel the familiar sensation of prepared energy, I took a few more bounds forward, towards Skipp. As I was just about to reach the Flygon, I spun on my front, left paw, twisting and willing my body to completely turn. I could feel the air push past my underside as I felt his claw swipe deliberately where I had been not a second prior.

As I focused on the act of kicking out my hind legs to do damage, however, my pivot crumbled, leaving me collapsing and rolling yet again under my weight.

"I think your problem is that you're not getting close enough," Skipp critiqued as I shook myself off. "Even if you didn't fall right then, you would'nt have been able to reach me and do any damage. You gotta stop right before the Pokémon you're fighting, since it gives you the range advantage _and_ they won't have time to react. You get me?"

"I guess," I moped, crouching down to try again.

"Rely on your enemy's weight to be there for you. I think you're focusing too much on how you're gonna recover after you hit them, when it's just as easy as pushing off. A good battler uses the enemy to make attacks hit harder."

Misa watched intently, sitting on the sideline and munching on an Oran. The sun had since set, but she hardly even found herself tired, let alone exhausted. Taking the seemingly normal Zorua in front of her and imagining him as a human led her to spectate his training with a careful eye. She'd been told before that humans didn't know how to fight like Pokémon. Despite his obvious frustration, he seemed to be enjoying the entire experience as much as she had herself.

Skipp had taken them up the hill from the Gym, almost near the summit. From up here, Opelucid was nothing but hundreds of thousands of shining lights from below. Skipp had apparently been, and maybe even trained, in this area before. It was a grassy, level area surrounded on one side by a cliff face and on the others by rough, textured boulders.

"Hah!" Misa snapped her attention back on Skipp and I as I called out in triumph. Skipp was smiling proudly.

" _Teach me something else!_ " I pleaded using Illusions. Speaking using them instead of my voice had begun to feel natural, and I had figured out rather quickly that I hated not being able to use them with Alder around. All traces of exhaustion had just about vanished after using Illusions to converse with others. Obviously, I grew steadily weary after using them for a while at any given time, but I'd made leaps and bounds since I'd first started using them. It almost felt as if, at this point, I needed to use energy lest I find myself pent-up and restless. They had become so natural, so integral, that I hardly had to explicitly think about conjuring them.

"It's Misa's turn, Nox," Skipp smiled. "You two still have to share, you know?"

"Nah," Misa said simply, sitting back down and propping her head on splinted arms. I could see the looks of intrigue she shot at me while training, though her denial of extra learning time for herself was thoroughly shocking. "I'm good. I wanna at least have a fair fight with the kid."

Skipp seemed just as surprised as I, but Misa simply leaned forwards and silently bade us to continue. I looked at the Flygon expectantly.

"Uhh… As far as attacks go, I don't know if you're ready for anything more than Scratch, but, umm… How about we work on more maneuvers?"

I quickly learned as we began that this body was much, _much_ more nimble than my human one. I had previously discovered that channeling more energy into my muscles helped them while they were weak, and an overload was the first step to an attack.

However, with Skipp's guidance, I quickly learned it was capable of so much more.

He told me to let as much extra energy flow into my hind legs as possible without actually initiating an attack. I simply looked at him oddly afterwards, as he provided no explanation as to why. Only after I jumped did I notice what I'd done, considering I involuntarily jumped higher than I had ever before, at least three feet into the air without any preparation whatsoever.

I landed on the soft grass roughly, flailing the entire journey down. As I coughed and shook my head afterwards, I noticed through my awe that Misa had fallen backwards and couldn't breathe with how hard she was laughing.

I was quick to fully absorb the extent of what had happened. I had known, obviously, about a Pokémon's ability to leap to incredible lengths, but I had been previously under the impression that it had come as a result of light bones, or something of the like.

My pupils dilated as I thought of what I would be capable of with such an ability. To jump…

"Hey Nox, can you hear me?"

I stood back up and began subconsciously pacing in place, padding at the grass in front of me and letting an increasingly excited smile form. I quickly began charging my legs again without any thought. More controlled this time around, I simply hopped into the air, whooping in exhilaration when I soared. I grunted as I landed, also finding that keeping energy stored in all my limbs greatly decreased the shock upon landing.

"Haha!" I yelled, completely overcome by excitement. I was like a superhero! What other human could say they experienced what I had?!

Even gravity, a fundamental force for the entirety of Earth, was no match for me. I jumped again, deciding in that instant to somersault in the air before landing incorrectly, falling flat on my face. I laughed even more despite myself.

"You're not hurting yourself, are you Nox?" Skipp asked. Despite the fact I couldn't even jump higher than the Flygon's height, he looked at me worriedly.

"Nope!" I affirmed, charging and coiling up yet again. This time, rather than go for height, I went as _far_ as I could. I landed maybe ten feet away, almost near Misa.

My mind just about shut down entirely. In the past, when faced with new capabilities, I had adjusted with excitement or annoyance with hardly any deviation. Now, however, I couldn't describe how I felt if I had tried. I had the sudden urge to roll in the grass. I did so, giggling stupidly all the while. I stood once more afterwards and jumped.

It was like a drug, plain and simple. I had apparently even missed a lot of what was said next, as Skipp had to walk over to my position and catch me as I initiated another jump. He tried verifying I was listening, which made me peer at him oddly.

"I know you're excited, Nox, but try to reel it in, ok? We don't wanna attract too much attention up here."

I slowly let myself calm down. We'd taken extra precautions to remain hidden as we came up the hill to avoid detection from the people surrounding Drayden's complex. Misa had been retracted into her ball, and since I myself was unable to be carried through the same methods, I'd been placed in a satchel Skipp wore to create an alibi of collecting Berries, or something of the like.

"S-sorry," I said, slipping back into my normally timid demeanor around the dragons. "I don't know what happened."

"Power rush."

"Huh?"

"A power rush. It's what happens sometimes when a Pokémon is so excited about learning a new move, or evolving, or whatever, that their core speeds up a _ton_. It's nothing to be scared or ashamed about, but your mind kinda just takes a break and your core takes over control for a little bit because it gets so powerful. Nothing bad, but it can be if it happens a bunch and for a long time."

I looked at him with confusedly blinking eyes. To ensure whatever 'power rush' he spoke of was completely gone, I repeated a single phrase a few times in my head. Words that, quite surprisingly, produced a slight sting.

 _I'm a human… I'm a human… This'll all be over soon._

"You okay?"

I nodded afterwards, letting my face fall. What was wrong with me?

"Here, uh… You want to…? Um…"

"Hey pipsqueak!"

I looked up at Misa as she left her rock and approached me, wearing a neutral expression.

"Let's fight already. It's starting to get freezing up here."

That was… convenient. She had seemed perfectly willing to wait earlier, but as soon as my momentum had started to fall, she jumped into the fray. I had a feeling her request to battle was much more than a simple request.

Skipp didn't know what to do, and by her tone, she seemed more ready to take my mind off of what had just transpired, rather than actually fight. Nevertheless, I tried forcing a light smile as I accepted.

Skipp, for one, seemed thankful for the intervention, as he was simply fumbling for words in a desperate attempt to make me feel better. As Misa and I walked towards the center of the clearing, he sighed.

"Alright, if you two really want to go at it… Let's go ahead and use some actual battling rules, huh?"

Misa looked at the Flygon curiously. I did the same afterwards, remembering I still had to feign ignorance.

"League Standards. You, uhh…"

Skipp seemed genuinely confused for a moment.

"I guess none of the rules apply to either of you yet. Huh… Well, Nox, just remember that as far as Illusions go, you're not allowed to force someone unconscious, or make them feel pain, or anything like that… I'll have to tell you the story later of when I fought Somin a while ago… He knew how to bend the rules around Illusions like I've never seen before. He could probably tell you all about them eventually, huh?"

I nodded curtly.

"Misa, umm… Don't use Dragon Rage… I think that's your only rule here."

"The hell is Dragon Rage?"

"Good. Okay, both of you shake hands… Or, uh… Bow, or something."

Taking a moment to discreetly show my exasperation to Misa through a sarcastic glance, I extended one of my front legs and bowed my head in her direction, hoping it would please Skipp. Misa, however, took the invitation to take a single step forward and ram her skull into mine, throwing me off balance as we butted heads.

"Hmph," Misa laughed as I flailed on the ground, trying to get back to my feet.

"That's how the Haxorus do it, shortstack," she gloated. "If we're gonna do this a lot, you'd better figure it out, quick."

"Will do," I replied sarcastically, proceeding to roll my eyes at her devilish smirk.

"Alright, turn around and take twenty steps away from each other."

I found myself growing somewhat annoyed with the ceremony. If we were to fight, what was wrong with just attacking each other? I understood trainers, myself included, performed this routine regularly, but it was different then.

Wasn't it?

"You guys ready?"

I was still lost in thought. Misa gave an excited confirmation, however.

"Go for it," Skipp instructed. Misa's confident tell as she began charging snapped me back down to earth.

I only had a fraction of a second to charge my legs with energy and leap to the side as she lunged. I sighed for a moment, sadly not feeling the same enthusiasm I had the last time I fought her.

"Aw, c'mon! Don't pull stuff like that with me!"

I ignored her taunts. I was starting to feel self-conscious now as I realized I had let myself go too far. How long had it been since I'd last felt normal? An hour? Two? It took Skipp knocking me out of my power rush to realize that I wasn't acting like myself, nor had I been. The chewtoy? My excitability to battle?

I was getting way too excited, and it was important I remembered I wasn't a Zorua. Such a mindset would only help me in the long run, even if it meant I couldn't let myself enjoy the small things.

The fate of the team rested on my ability not to indulge in life as it was. I was strong. I needed to remain strong. I was their leader, their commander; if I was off, letting myself enjoy life as a Zorua, how would they think of me? How would I live with myself?

I had a responsibility to them. A responsibility to keep myself alert and awake. I scolded myself for having fallen so deep… The mannerisms of a Zorua had too subtly nearly taken over my mind completely. I wouldn't let it happen again.

"Misa, timeout," I said sullenly, watching her face fall as she halted in preparation of an attack. "I'm… I'm not really in the mood right now."

"Is this about looking like an idiot jumping around everywhere? Don't sweat it, kid."

"No, it's just…"

I looked towards Skipp, silently pleading with a sense of hopelessness.

"I'm tired… It's been a long day."

"What?"

"Misa, if Nox doesn't want to fight, he doesn't have to fight."

I looked away, eyes downcast.

"Hey, Nox, come on… I was waiting on you the whole time. I thought we were gonna have fun!"

"Maybe another time, Misa," I replied simply, walking away. "I'm just not feeling it anymore."

"Nox!"

"Misa," Skipp deterred, stepping in as the Axew made a movement to follow me. "I think he wants to be left alone right now… Just leave him be for a bit. We can spar some more, if you want."

I ignored any further conversation as I came to the edge of the clearing, the top of a cliff face looking out on the twinkling lights of Opelucid. I sighed to myself, choosing to repeat my mantra verbally, quietly.

"I'm a human… I'm a human…"

* * *

Jet, after circling the perimeter multiple times, landed as discreetly as possible in a corner of the courtyard. He gave a wary look around, verifying the only presences in the vicinity were those of the fish in the nearby pond.

He thought he saw it, but took a few, tentative steps forward to verify. Sure enough, under the bench, the signal was there. He nodded to himself silently, sighing before taking off yet again into the night.

Jet left behind the red chewtoy he presumed to be the signal as to avoid attention to its absence. It would continue to sit innocently under the bench until about a half-hour later, when Skipp returned with both hatchlings. They were already unconscious upon his arrival, leading him to simply picking up the object without second thought and bringing them in for the night.

Nox was handed over to Seraph, where he was gently woken and given a bath. Seraph noticed his downcast, borderline depressed gaze, but chose not to press.

It would be the last bath he would be given for quite a while.

* * *

Misa, realizing she was awake, stole a look around her surroundings. She was back, stuck again in that damned place she went every night.

Her nest.

The nest was one of many in the sprawling cavern around her. Dug into the compacted dirt beneath her, she wasn't even tall enough to see over the lip of the crater. None of her littermates were nearby, neither was her mother.

Though she knew who was.

She felt the stomping of his feet as he approached before she even heard them. It was a special sort of sound, nearly silent yet able to invoke deep fear. She backed away and cowered into one of the nest's corners, hoping, for once, he wouldn't find her.

Yet, as always, he did. She looked away and shut her eyes tight.

"Misericors," his voice said, soft yet stern, prompting her to freeze. No matter how she willed it, the only thing she could do was shake.

"Are you going to answer me?" he slowly asked in spite. She, with eyes still closed, shook her head.

The ground shook suddenly beneath her as he stomped a clawed foot with the force of an earthquake. She couldn't help but squeal in fear, thrown to the ground.

She had prayed this wouldn't happen again; every night she had asked for respite. Yet, in the end, it was inevitable. Her father had found her again, killed all of her caretakers in Drayden's team. Now, all it took to reduce her to a trembling mess was for him to abuse the position as the only creature in the world that truly frightened her.

Yet, that night was different.

Not on any action of Misa's of course. Through her eyelids, a bright flash exploded into existence, preceding a clap of thunder which alone would have brought her to her knees.

With quick breaths, she noticed the noise and light subsiding. Her father was… He wasn't torturing her anymore?

She dared not open her eyes. It was a trick! He always won, this much she knew. It was simply a new way for him to jest at her gullibility.

A brush of fur under her chin. Gasping, her eyes flew open as she pushed out against whatever had just touched her. She threw blind punches, yelling frantically.

Nothing was there… But there was something behind her, as evidenced by the same brush of fur on the back of her neck. She shivered, clenching up and preparing herself as best as possible for the undeniable onslaught to follow.

"Nightmares ain't as bad as usual, huh? Guess it's a good thing. I can't talk to Ray for whatever reason and I've been trying to talk to you for a while."

She whipped her head around as the voice finished speaking. Nobody to be found. She took frantic glances around. Her father had disappeared as well; no sign of the Haxorus whatsoever.

"You and Ray are pretty similar, actually, now that I can see you for myself. I can see why he likes you so much."

Misa struggled to slow her breathing. The voice was coming from everywhere. It was impossible to pinpoint it to one exact location. In that instant, she made an effort to recall what Vulcan had taught her. She prepared her tusks for battle. If she wasn't fighting her father, maybe she stood a chance?

"Huh, not what I was expecting. You're _really_ afraid of him, ain'tcha? You'd be more ready to take me on than him? That's pretty funny, actually. Well, _Misericors_ , I think your world's aboutta get a whole lot bigger."

"Who are you?!" Misa yelled tentatively. A brush of fur against the back of her neck again. She lashed out, yelling as she spun and waved her tusks through the air frantically.

"Who am I? I'm the one that's gonna teach you there are a lot worse things to be worried about than a crummy old Haxorus I could erase without even trying."

"W-"

"What do I mean? Well, that's pretty easy."

Misa turned slowly, promptly before jumping back when frightened by a pair of large, blue eyes.

"We're gonna have a nice chat, but there's one thing you should learn, and learn pretty fast… Take this whole thing seriously, or stay away from my human."

* * *

 **Did somebody say 'inconsistent narrative'? Wowee, you just summed up my entire thoughts on this chapter in a single phrase!**

 **In all honesty, I wanted to make the prose less jumpy. The amount of cuts I employed in this chapter alone is gigantic (I counted nine). However, I felt that the plot, as we progress into the final chapter of the Act, needed a bit more perspective than Ray alone. Hence, the scene with Crag and Vulcan, as well as the scene with Misa at the end.**

 **Could some of the cuts have been avoided? Definitely. However, explicitly outlining such mundane events as 'Ray walks inside to find Skyla and Skyla takes him to Drayden' is hardly even worth the time, to be honest. I can pretty much guarantee that the latter parts of the next chapter, in addition to the one after, as they signify the finale of Act II, will be entirely different. Ray gets to experience everything firsthand as it happens, and it's certainly more eventful than writing out yet another mundane day in the life of Nox the Zorua.**

 **Furthermore, I can guarantee Act III will be a bit more** _ **entertaining**_ **than this. I realize the plot got stale rather quickly; if you feel otherwise I'm glad. However, many of the events within the Act just ended up repeating themselves, the only deviation being the steadily building relationship between Ray and Misa, as well as Ray's growing grasp on his powers.**

 **In other news, thanks for 50 Favorites! I can't believe how well this is doing, and I only can hope for the best in the future!**

 **I hit writer's block trying to figure out the end of this chapter… I initially had it set where the end of this led into the beginning of the next, as I did with the end of Act I. However, when everything fits into place and multiple mysteries are solved simultaneously, I want it to be solely confined to a single chapter, as to represent the spontaneity of the event itself. I hope you'll understand in more depth when the next two chapters are published.**

 **Until then, however, see you all in two weeks!**


	22. Liar

**l**

 **Chapter XXI - Liar**

* * *

"Damnit, Drayden, just listen to me!"

Crag's near-roar was followed by a frustrated stomp that shook the items on Drayden's desk. He was growing progressively more angry with Drayden as the conversation passed.

"You saw what happened when the kid discharged! Imagine what would happen if he actually attacked!"

"What would you have me do, Crag?"

"Hand him over to Vicus already! He can contain it!"

"Vulcan came and spoke with me about your conversation with him in the tunnels. I must ask the same question he did then. What happens if Nox attacks Vicus?"

"He's _Vicus_. You don't think he could take on a hatchling like him?"

"You and I both know this is no ordinary kit. Everybody in this complex knows this is no ordinary kit. Crag, please, find reason."

"Reason is only killin' us faster! We can figure out how to try and keep everything cool when we bring 'em down, but if we keep doin' what we're doin', Alder's gonna eventually figure out everything! All it takes is one slip up and we're done."

"So you want to stop dancing around the subject and figure out what Nox is exactly?"

"Yeah! What's wrong with that?"

"Mew, put plain and simply. If we introduce Nox to Vicus too early, we lose the only leverage we had on Mew. I understand what we're doing now is risky, Crag. Alder is catching on to more and more each day regarding the operation. However, we must choose between Vicus' safety and Alder's knowledge of what goes on here."

"Vicus ain't in any danger, though! Even if we let Mew out now, she won't do anything!"

"Can you guarantee it?"

"Probably! She's just as scared as he is, as you are! She coulda easily killed all of us when we captured Ray's team, but she didn't. She ain't stupid, Drayden."

"It's a risk both Vicus and I are unwilling to take. Thank you for speaking your mind, however I have to deny your request."

"Drayden, c'mo-"

"I'm giving you the day off. I'd appreciate it if you would teach Nox a bit more regarding technique. Skipp has shown him more of the basics, but I need you to help us, Crag. Help us find his excess power and figure out how to mold it so we're safe. Can I trust you to do that?"

The Druddigon was simply livid. He sent his trainer a scowl as he turned and left the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

If he had to choose one of his teammates he thought he knew would help, Drayden was it. Just like Seraph and Vulcan, however, the Gym Leader shot down his ideas before he could even voice them fully.

For that, he was angry…

Very angry.

Seraph met him outside with an annoyed gaze, matching his moderate pace as he stormed down the hallway.

"I'm assuming Drayden shared my opinion?"

"Shut up."

She sighed. "It's for the best, Crag. All we can do is make sure Alder doesn't figure anythi-"

"I said shut up!"

He turned on her, face oddly neutral and eyes ablaze. Seraph took a surprised step back.

As the echo of the roar slowly faded into nothingness, both of the dragons picked up on another, distinct sound further down the hallway.

Yelling. All sorts of different voices, calling out in fear.

Allowing himself to calm down enough to shoot a short glance at Seraph, Crag grunted and led the way to the lobby and the commotion within.

* * *

"..."

"Misa?"

"I'm fine. Just not feeling the greatest."

"You don't have to get up if you don't want to."

"I said I'm fine, didn't I?"

"You don't look like it… You're green."

"I'm always green."

In truth, I myself was feeling much better about the previous night. The fact I once again had my recurring dream showed me yet another reason why being human would be much, much more favorable. Mew's absence I found increasingly concerning. Was she really speaking to Jet every single night? It was worth investigation.

Misa was already halfway through the door by the time I finished my introspection. I followed her worriedly.

"I can get Seraph, Misa… We all get sick sometimes, it's nothing wrong with you."

"Just leave me alone, Nox… That's an order."

I froze as she continued down the hallway towards the kitchen. It had been awhile since she'd actually given me a serious order.

I sighed, resigning to check and see where we were. By pure coincidence, Skyla's room was just to the left. With nothing else to do, I pushed through the unlocked door and into the dark room, closing it behind me.

She was still asleep. I wasn't exactly hungry at the time, and it was still early in the morning.

I simply hopped onto the bed and curled up against her side. She shifted in her sleep, throwing an arm over me as I settled.

I needed more time to think. What I had let happen the previous night was unacceptable, plain and simple. I had to remember my place in all this.

"Something up?"

I peered through the darkness at Skyla's face. Her eyes were still closed. It wasn't as if she could see me, anyways. I knew it was too dark for a human, as the room was then.

I grunted out a simple 'meh' in response.

"Mm… What time is it?"

Skyla rolled over to look at a digital clock on her bedside stand.

"Six thirty… You guys get up early, huh?"

I elected not to answer.

"Alder didn't talk to you again, did he? Is that why you're in here?"

I shook my head, making sure she felt it.

"I'm gonna go back to sleep, then," she then said sluggishly, laying back down while reaching a hand to scratch my head lightly. "Wake me up if anything happens."

I responded silently, shifting into a more comfortable position as she closed her eyes yet again.

My eyes were only shut for half a second before the door exploded in loud banging. Instantly on alert, my ears pressed against my head as I jumped away from the noises.

Skyla was jolted awake, the banging having continued. She struggled for a few moments to throw off the sheets before sluggishly moving towards the door. Still on alert, I watched the door with wide eyes from the bed.

She'd hardly even opened the door an inch before a terrified Flygon burst into the room, shouting.

"Nox, Nox, are you in here?!"

I supposed Skipp couldn't see me as well as I could see him because of the lack of lighting in the room. After getting over my initial shock, I tried calming my voice as I responded.

"Yeah, I'm here. What's going on?"

Skipp's eyes locked onto me as if to verify I was really myself. He sighed shortly afterward.

"Okay, good," he muttered under his breath.

"Flygon!" Skyla exclaimed after getting over her initial shock. "What was that for?!"

"Both of you need to come with me, now. Something happened."

My curiosity was piqued as I took no time in following Skipp's command. I simply followed him out the door and into the hallway as he took Skyla by the arm and dragged her along.

"What's going on?" I reiterated as we made our way into the living room. Skipp, unanswering and taking short glances through the windows and into the courtyard, brought us down the secondary hallway to the far end.

"Not sure yet," he revealed as he reached up with his free claw and fiddled with an object I hadn't noticed he'd been holding. At first glance, it seemed to be a string, but I could see his interest was on the end of it.

Unable to fully grasp it with cumbersome and nervous claws, he simply huffed and handed it over to Skyla, who'd been yelling just about the entire time she'd been dragged along.

"I can walk for myself!" she exclaimed as Skipp passed off what he'd been holding.

It was then I saw that it was a key. A single key, silver and rather large. Skyla accepted it without further word and finally wrenched her wrist from Skipp's claw.

Shortly afterwards I realized where we were. A sudden shiver ran down my spine.

Skipp could see me trembling with anticipation and turned to comfort me as Skyla worked the door.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," he said comfortingly, mistaking my anxiety for fear. It wasn't the suddenness of the situation that put me at unease, however.

It was the fact we now stood in front of the locked door to Drayden's study. The room I suspected to be the only way to access my team, and the room I had been supplementarily trying to find a way into since I'd come.

"A-are we being attacked?"

"I don't know." Skipp crouched down and reinforced his reassuring face. "But, even if we are, we're going to be alright, okay?"

"Misa?"

"Vulcan picked her up in the courtyard. She'll be safe, don't worry."

I nodded, looking around the Flygon to see Skyla had just finished unlocking the door and was opening it. Following Skipp's lead, I promptly went inside. The door was shut behind us and locked.

It was pitch black initially, necessitating that my eyes had to adjust. I could see better than Skyla and Skipp both after a few seconds, but the lights were quick to turn on.

"Try not to touch anything that looks important," Skipp advised, prompting me to nod.

The room was actually rather small. A few bookshelves lined two of the walls, overflowing with rotting manuscripts and rough, dusty leather. Directly in front of me was a wooden desk, simplistic at best. The carpeted floor seemed out of place with the rest of the house, considering its sickly green color.

Various certificates and pictures took up the remaining wallspace, including a plaque recognizing Drayden's status as a Gym Leader. Some of the pictures taken were in complete black and white, while others were of Drayden with various people I recognized as famous Unovan figures.

Actually, most of them were just that. Looking around, I was able to discern most of the people pictured, including what I counted to be nine of the past Unovan Prime Ministers. Even if I didn't recognize the people in a few photos, I recognized the landmarks in which the picture was taken…

Except for one. It just so happened to be the only picture without Drayden.

It looked rough, obviously the oldest out of all the ones taken. The fact that it was crumpled in multiple spots and singed on some of the edges led me to believe it'd been through much. Depicted was a pair of humans standing in front of a Haxorus and a Garchomp, all smiling or half-smiling into the camera.

I looked more closely, noticing something else. In front of the group of four, and sitting on the ground at the ankles of the humans were two figures. They were both quite small, but it was almost impossible to discern their identity considering this part of the picture had almost completely been worn away.

I could only see a fin poking out of one of their heads.

"You like Drayden's pictures?"

I turned around, startled by Skipp's voice. He'd snuck up on me without my noticing, despite his size.

"Me and the team aren't in a ton of them, but then again they're almost all from back when Drayden was the mayor of Opelucid. You knew that, didn't you?"

I shook my head. How would Nox have known that?

"Well, that's what he did for a while. We did a ton of stuff, really. My favorite parts were before Drayden got involved in all the politics stuff. Did you know we actually went out and did missions for the government?"

"Missions like?"

"Well, a lot of them were stuff involving the UPF, to be honest. This was back when they actually worked in the public, and did some really bad things."

Skipp laughed for a moment and beckoned me over to look at one of the lower pictures on the wall. It was of Drayden and a man I recognized to be the Champion before Alder challenged and defeated him.

"This is Sanuek, one of Drayden's best human friends. Back when we were doing that kinda stuff, they worked together all the time. I think it was Sanuek that actually came up with the name 'UPF' in the first place, as a joke."

"A joke?"

"Well, the UPF isn't actually called the UPF, you know. They technically don't have a name, but the people working against them needed something to call them by. They were all a bunch of guys who didn't think the law applied to them, so Sanuek made the joke one day that they should just split apart from Unova entirely and make their own country of thieves. The United Poachers' Federation."

I looked up at Skipp curiously. Even I hadn't known the name's origin.

"The public didn't know a ton about these guys, even back then. They might know of them now since Drayden talked about them in his press conference, but we honestly thought we'd gotten rid of 'em for good, you know?"

"How did you know?"

"Well, Drayden and the rest of us were part of the raid that took out their last big stronghold… Jeez, that had to've been 40-something years ago now, or something like that."

"If you destroyed them then how did they come back?"

"Well, ideas like the ones they had never really die. They thought that people shouldn't be restrained under laws from the government, and obviously that kinda freedom struck a chord with people. Even then, though, two of their younger admins ended up getting away. But, years passed and nothing happened, so we finally gave it a rest. Drayden got into politics to try and fix some of the things that the UPF saw wrong with the world, and that lasted for a while."

"Huh."

Skipp was spouting facts like he'd told this story dozens of times. It made me remember how old the Flygon actually was, despite his shifting personality. The fact that Drayden had tried to rectify many of the issues the UPF found with the region was interesting as well. What were his intentions?

"Sanuek went on to be Champion while Drayden was mayor of Opelucid, which ended up giving Drayden the motivation to become a Gym Leader something like 25 years ago. Sanuek was Champion for a long time before Alder came in and beat him a few years back, and, well… He passed away last year."

I remembered having heard that on the news. The man had been champion for decades, the third longest tenure anybody had ever held in Unova. I probably would've attended his massive funeral out of pure respect for the man if it hadn't been held in his hometown of Lacunosa, halfway across the continent from where I was at the time.

However, despite all the interesting backstory I could have probably found anyways with a simple search on the internet, I still needed to learn more. I needed to discover the things that weren't otherwise easily found, and for whatever reason, that set my mind on one course.

Vicus.

I needed to pressure Skipp while he was in a reminiscent mood. He was still the one dragon I could rely on to feed me even a droplet of information if I pressured hard enough. I gave a small glance towards Skyla out of the corner of my eye. She seemed to be fiddling with something at Drayden's desk, indirectly giving me Skipp's full attention.

"Sanuek and Drayden were good friends, then?"

"The best, as far as humans go. Drayden was never really good at making human friends."

"Even better than Vicus?"

I held back a smirk as Skipp's muscles visibly contracted. He laughed nervously.

"He's… Different. T-their, well, I mean… Vicus' and Drayden's f-friendship is, like, different."

I took note on how quickly he'd slipped back into his shell. He was stuttering almost as roughly as when he'd first met me.

"Different how?"

"Uh, um… I really can't explain that well, b-but, I mean, Sanuek and Vicus knew each other too. They w-were kinda like a trio, I guess?"

Such a reveal was interesting. If Sanuek knew Vicus and Drayden as well as Skipp was letting on, did that mean he knew their goals? Surely, a situation like the one we all found ourselves in couldn't have been predicted, but Drayden and Vicus must have had some goal in mind through their mutual working together.

I respected Sanuek, certainly. He hadn't been as much an idol to me as, say, Skyla had while growing up, but I would most definitely trust him if he were still in charge of the league. Much more so than Alder. If Sanuek knew Drayden's and Vicus' intentions for the future, did that mean they weren't malicious?

Some part of me wanted the answer to be no. I wanted to be proven right in my suspicion of Drayden, even if that meant detriment for my team and myself. It was a selfish desire, however subconscious, but even with the new information that Sanuek, the former Champion, had been buddy-buddy with Drayden and Vicus, I couldn't bring myself to believe their intentions were pure. There was a missing piece, somewhere.

There had to have been more of an explanation for helping me. It couldn't have been just out of compassion for my dilemma.

 _What's your game, Drayden?_

* * *

Only about ten minutes passed in confinement before Drayden opened the study door and led us all outside. Skyla was on him in an instant, frustrated she wasn't able to communicate with Skipp to figure out what had happened.

I hadn't gotten much time to look around the cramped space, but it was almost instantly obvious that there was nothing to find. It led me to question why Drayden kept it locked, but I shrugged it off. No secret levers, no trapdoors, nothing led me to the basement. Nothing gave me even so much as a clue.

Alder was waiting in the living room and stood as our group of four approached. I deliberately avoided any eye contact.

"Drayden," he said, tone restrained, "don't you think we should talk about this _in private_ first?"

The Gym Leader simply sent him a hard stare of defiance. I could see Alder's brow twitch.

I noticed Vulcan enter from the courtyard, sending Drayden a nod of confirmation as he passed behind the sofa Alder stood in front of. He snorted, prompting the Champion to jump in surprise at his otherwise silent entrance.

Misa showed herself right then, walking from behind the sofa and coming to a stop by Skipp's feet. I tried sending her a glance, but she was acting oddly reserved. Quiet. Scared, even?

"Misa, you alright? Something happen?"

I didn't even get a response. Before I could inquire further and press on, Drayden began speaking.

"I apologize for scaring you all, but this morning an unexpected visitor arrived on our doorstep and made a scene in the lobby of the Gym."

"And this visitor?" Alder asked, having already sat back down. He was nothing like the man I'd seen over the last few days. He was obviously ticked at something.

Drayden sighed.

"It was Jet. Ray Alston's Braviary."

Silence engulfed the room, minus a quiet gasp emitted by Skyla, as the information slowly seeped in. I tried sending Misa a terrified glance, but she was unmoved.

Why had Jet reared his head so early? That wasn't the plan! The plan was that I would signal him when the time came, but by then I had already theoretically found the way into the basement and could move there during the chaos. If he had just attacked the Gym, all elements of surprise were no longer existent.

The study had been my last hope, but there was nothing there.

I could now conclude that the entrance was somewhere in the TEC, but that information was now completely useless if Drayden's team had picked up Jet. I wouldn't be able to navigate the grounds alone with the extra precautions being taken for my safety.

"Nobody was injured except for my Druddigon. It was obvious that the Braviary didn't intend to harm anyone with whatever he planned on doing, but as soon as Druddigon and Altaria attempted to apprehend him, he fought back."

I held my breath.

"We detained him without further issue."

"That's it?" Alder asked, bewildered, "That's the end of it then, huh?"

"We can speak more on the topic in private if you'd like, but I've given you nothing but the truth."

"So we just forget about this then?! Drayden, I want to see Alston's team. Now."

"Alder-"

"No. I'm done dancing around it. People could've gotten _hurt_ , Drayden, and all because you think you have the jurisdiction to keep the team of an international criminal!"

Skyla stood, rebuttal ready. Alder whipped his head towards her and shot her down, however.

"I'm tired of being in the dark here," the Champion continued, looking individually at everyone in the room. Including me. I shied away from his angry gaze, such a sharp contrast from the aloof personality I'd seen him exude up until this point.

"It's seriously concerning me that you're even _thinking_ about acting like nothing happened here. Do you need to step down, Drayden?"

Drayden's gaze narrowed. I could feel the malice coming off him in waves.

"This is a circus," Alder exclaimed, turning and walking out towards the courtyard door. He pushed past Vulcan on his way out.

I didn't think Alder would directly mention everything going on, especially in public. To be honest, I would be frustrated too if I were him. Drayden and Skyla were his subordinates, after all, and in direct rebellion by retaining the secrets they had.

"I'm sending Brycen home," Alder called out, fuming as he passed through the door. "Be ready to answer me truthfully when I get back, or I swear to every god there is that you're both _done_."

The room sat in a shocked silence for a moment before Drayden made eye contact with Skipp and motioned towards him. Nodding, the Flygon whispered a few words before herding both Misa and I back towards our room.

I was too busy trying to process the conversation to take notice as my legs carried me away. What did all this mean? Were there to be even more changes, now that Alder had finally snapped regarding Drayden's secrecy?

How would I escape?

I gave a hopeful glance towards Misa, who was staring at the ground with arms crossed protectively, as if she were cold. I knew already that she wasn't feeling like herself today. Was it worth telling Skipp that she was sick?

Before the idea took enough time to gain traction, however, Skipp stopped in the doorway to our bedroom, prompting us to turn and face him.

"I'm sorry you two had to hear that. Drayden and Alder haven't really ever been the best of friends, you know? I'm sure they'll figure things out."

I looked up towards him with wide eyes, selfishly taking advantage of the moment.

"Is Crag okay? Jet probably didn't mean to hurt him."

"Crag might be the most hard-headed one out of all of us," Skipp chuckled, glad that my mind evidently wasn't on the exchange between Drayden and Alder. "He'll be perfectly fine."

"Now that everyone's here, can I see my friends?"

Skipp closed his eyes, restraining himself this time around.

"Now's probably not the best time to ask, Nox. How about you and Misa just hang out with each other for a bit while the grown-ups get all this stuff settled, huh?"

I looked towards Misa to see her reaction to the proposal. She was indifferent, and chose not to maintain eye contact with Skipp. I looked up to him worriedly afterwards.

"You feeling okay, Misa?" he asked, having recognized the concern on my face. "You've been a bit… Quiet."

"Yeah, just not feeling great," she mumbled. I simply stared, attracting her gaze for a quick moment. I tried silently asking if she was truly alright through my eyes alone, but she shied away, even going as far as to take a step back and retreat to the bed.

"Keep an eye on her?" Skipp pleaded quietly. "I would stay and talk with her, but Drayden sounds like he's gonna need help for the rest of today. Can I count on you?"

I sighed to myself before nodding. Skipp smiled softly and turned to leave. I myself was ready to turn as well when the flimsy end of his tail softly smacked me on the snout. I thought it was a simple mistake for a moment before I saw Skipp's contented smirk and wink as he walked through the door, closing it behind him.

I stood there for a few seconds, blinking confusedly. Had Skipp been playing with me? More than playing, even. The sentiment there was something else entirely.

 _Oh no… Oh Arceus, please, if you're listening to me and can do one thing, please… Not that._

My heart grew heavy. I'd been noticing it as of late, but with everything going on, I chose to keep my opinion on the matter out of mind.

I would have to tell him I was human at some point, as I would have to with Seraph, one way or another. I didn't want to lead them on, but it was inevitable. They cherished our relationship… A relationship I had built entirely on a disgusting lie.

One could go as far as to say they…

They adored me as if I was their own.

Did they love me?

I slowly exhaled, closing my eyes and hanging my head while still remaining just in front of the door. This thought, this mistake needed to take precedence in my mind right now.

I couldn't lead them on further, I just couldn't. The hole I'd dug myself into was already deep enough. But, in the end, I had to, didn't I? I still didn't trust Drayden in the slightest. I thought more of Alder, even, than I did of Drayden himself.

But, to see Seraph and Skipp… I trusted them, despite my best efforts. How could they team with a man as secretive as Drayden?

I wished things had been better, that I didn't have to lead them on and pretend to bring them close. I would have to break their hearts at some point. The question was, now that Jet was captured, where, when, and how would I reveal my secret?

Perhaps it would just be better to run away after somehow finding and retrieving my team. To let them keep believing I was a Zorua and Ray was truly dead. I couldn't deal with the embarrassment and shame that would surely come if they were to figure me out. Nobody had to know I had been transformed.

My eyes shifted to Misa. Nobody but her… Even if she didn't mean it, the secret would slip out one day.

That shifted my train of thought for a moment. What _would_ she do after this? Seraph had suggested that she remain as part of Drayden's team, which honestly seemed like the best option. However, even with Seraph and Skipp around to care for her, I still didn't trust the Gym Leader himself.

 _What do you care? She'll finally be out of your hair._

I shook my head and ambled over towards the bed, hopping up once I was next to it. Misa was already laying down by then, looking away from me.

"I guess you're not gonna tell me what's going on? If we're both stuck in here, we should at least try and figure out what to do without Jet."

Silence.

"You're acting really, really weird, Misa. Did something happen last night?"

"Bad dream," she mumbled, hoping to end the conversation as quickly as possible. I thought a moment before responding, sitting down and staring at her curiously.

"Don't you always have those?"

No response again.

"Hey."

She wasn't talking.

"Look, Misa, to be honest I don't care how you feel right now, but we need to make a plan. We gotta figure out what to do."

I stepped forward as she still chose to give no reaction to my words. Unable to think of much else, I rested a paw on her shoulder and shook her for a moment.

She reacted to my touch by letting out an odd sort of squeal before swatting me away and jumping back. She looked at me with wide eyes as I tried processing her apparent fear.

"What's wrong? Did I hurt you?"

Misa gulped for a moment, face obviously conflicted.

"Just… Stay away from me."

"What?"

"I don't want to be dragged down with you! Freak!"

It sounded like the words were more for herself than they were for me.

"Misa, you're not acting like yourself right now. What happened?"

She shut her mouth and shook her head rapidly, keeping her terrified eyes on me the entire time. I took another step forward, prompting her to retreat.

"Misa," I said with a bit more confidence, "tell me what happened. Now."

"No!"

Frustrated, I took another step forward, face lightening only somewhat as Misa's next step backward sent her tumbling off the side of the bed.

"Misa!" I exclaimed to pressure her further.

"I can't tell you!"

She was still out of eyeshot, but by the time I had made it to the edge of the mattress to see where she was, she had disappeared. I hopped down and found her squirming to fit further under the bed and crawl out the other side.

"This is really stupid," I said, rolling my eyes. "You know there's nothing to be afraid about, right?"

Grunting, I hopped back up onto the bed and crossed to the other side, where she was now just wiggling out of the tight space. Her eyes met mine for a moment.

"Why can't you tell me?"

"Because she said she wou-"

She was screaming by this point, but what she said before cutting herself off caught me off guard.

"What?"

I could see Misa had given up, choosing to curl herself up and whimper pitifully. I hopped off the bed, prompting her to flinch. She didn't try running away this time.

"She…?"

"Forget I said that," Misa said so quietly I could hardly hear her.

"Someone threatened you?"

No response. I could hear her choking up.

"Was she… Pink?"

Misa froze, perking up for a moment.

"Oh no… Ah, come on."

I took a second to turn around and sit down, closing my eyes in frustration. Of course it had been Mew. Why now, of all times? I had asked her to try intimidating Misa before so she would leave me alone, but I didn't feel the same anymore. Misa was an asset, and significantly less annoying and dangerous to me as she was back before we left Timberline.

"Misa. Mew's really, really overprotective, but you've helped me a ton while we've been here."

I could hear the Axew's breathing begin to ease as she absorbed my words.

"A ton of the stuff I've gotten done I couldn't have done without you. And, in the end, I'm Mew's trainer."

I turned around to see she was staring at me with a single eye, still curled up.

"Sorry for chasing you around, but Mew's on our side, okay? I wouldn't let her even touch you if it came down to it. She's just really, really protective of me, and rightfully so."

I continued, walking past Misa to hop back onto the bed.

"I've died or come close to dying way too much, and Mew's saved me just as many times. When we get out of here, I'm going to talk to her, okay? Tell her that you're cool. As long as I'm around, you got nothing to worry about with Mew."

Why was I going as far as to say I'd protect Misa if it came down to it? I couldn't control Mew. I never had given her an order that she'd followed, nor did I have the power to stop her if she were to fall out of control. She was a god, for Arceus' sake!

Misa hopped back on the bed a few seconds later, choosing to keep her distance. I tried moving closer so we could actually converse and, maybe, plan for the future, but she stopped me with a sideways glance.

"Don't push it."

I blinked for a moment or two, proceeding to look down towards the bed.

"You got a plan?" Misa continued afterwards, avoiding any direct eye contact from there onwards. I huffed for a moment.

"No idea."

* * *

The pillow underneath Crag's head had long since been destroyed by the time Skipp quietly stepped into the room.

"What?" the Druddigon asked gruffly, feeling his grip around the weak bedframe supporting him only tighten.

"Oh, um… Didn't think you'd be awake."

Crag sat up, the coarse scales on his face frustratingly taking many feathers from the pillow with him. Skipp wanted to make the joke that he looked like a Pidove, but the Druddigon's angry glare stopped his mouth.

"What?" he asked again.

"Drayden sent me… He, uh, wanted to make sure you were feeling alright."

"I'm fine. Was going easy on that little shit during our Gym fight. He just got a lucky shot."

Skipp took a quick glance at the bandages wrapped around Crag's shoulder and smiled nervously.

"Haha… Yeah."

"He say if I was allowed to leave yet? I don't get how humans can sleep on all this crap."

"Well, I mean… They're kinda comfy, if you try em… Beds, I mean. Er… When was the last time you _did_ get some sleep?"

Crag's expression tightened, prompting Skipp to laugh nervously again.

"Right, uh… Well, with all the stuff going on, Drayden said he… Y'know… Might like keeping you in here a bit more?"

"He what?"

Skipp gulped as Crag began standing.

"Well, I mean… With Alder running around all over the place, Drayden just wants to make sure you're not caught up in it, is all. Nothing wrong with that, right?"

Crag began walking towards the door, picking feathers out from his skin as he started pushing by Skipp. The Flygon, in a spur-of-the-moment decision, stepped in front of him. Crag stopped, looking at him with indifference.

"Hey, so, uh, haha… He also said not to worry about training Nox today. I got it covered."

"Don't worry about it. I got it."

Skipp stepped in front of Crag again as he tried getting around him.

"Please? Just let us take care of this stuff? It's your day off, anyways."

"Then I shouldn't be spending it in this cramped room, should I?"

Crag laid a claw on Skipp and tried not letting too much of his anger show while forcibly moving the Flygon aside.

"Crag!"

The Druddigon pushed through the small doorframe and out into the hallway, gathering his bearings and walking nonchalantly towards the lobby. Skipp slipped out of the room and followed him.

At his first opportunity, the Flygon ducked past the bulkier dragon and blocked the hallway.

"This isn't a good idea, Crag," he asserted, not being able to help but let off a nervous smile.

Crag's brow furrowed and eye twitched. Skipp laughed nervously again.

"Hey, taking the day off isn't so bad, right?"

"Skipp. I'm going to give you three seconds before I beat your ass. Drayden wants that Zorua trained? You bet your ass I'm gonna train him."

"Look, Crag… Training a kit as small as Nox probably isn't the best idea right now when you're this mad, you know? Maybe we should just wait for another tim-"

Crag's claw raked across Skipp's cheek with surprising speed, prompting the Flygon to take a few, shocked steps back.

Skipp, still in shock, reached up to touch his face to find the natural visor protecting his eyes had been torn in multiple places. Crag's attack had only been a few inches away from leaving him permanently blind in his left eye.

Crag took that moment of shock in order to roughly push past Skipp again and enter the empty lobby, slamming him against the wall in the process.

Skipp breathed heavily for a few moments, watching the Druddigon as he passed the front desk and made his way towards the courtyard. It had been decades since he'd seen anything not tinted red by his visors, but more important thoughts were going through his mind. Crag was going for Nox.

Skipp touched the now useless protective covering over his eye once again. It didn't hurt, as the area had no nerves, but the plastic-like shield would take a very, very long time to heal. Months, probably, months and months of reminders of what Crag had done every time Skipp opened his eyes.

A switch flipped on.

Crag was only alerted to something happening by an enraged yell before he was slammed into by a fast, blunt mass. The breath was knocked out of him as the force of the attack sent him into the air. He slammed against the back wall, cold marble not doing his recovery any favors.

"You are _NOT_ going anywhere near Nox or Misa! Do you understand me?!"

Crag, after getting over the initial shock of the blow, chuckled and got to his feet.

"I guess I don't have to go easy on you like I do that Braviary, huh? Been awhile since I had a _real_ fight."

Skipp twitched, voicing a low growl while charging a claw. It was the first time he'd ever seen the brilliance of the blue and gold energy emitting from his hand for what it truly was, rather than filtered by the red always present in his vision.

Crag charged, lowering his head and smirking confidently. Skipp, likewise, took off with an ear-shattering roar, feet leaving the ground with wings carrying him to met with Crag head-on.

Despite his power, however, the pure momentum Crag had built up was enough to throw Skipp off balance. The Flygon's feet touched the ground again after a few seconds of contact with the Druddigon, pushing against the bulkier dragon with all his might.

Crag drove onwards, using the slick marble floor to his advantage. Skipp was forced back, unable to match the Druddigon's physical strength. His rough scales were starting to dig into Skipp's hands and causing trails of blood to form.

Skipp roared again, grabbing Crag by the shoulders and turning sharply, using the Druddigon's momentum to throw him to the ground. As Crag tried recovering, Skipp charged again, wings beating and heart pounding.

He charged a fist full of draconic energy and swung at the Druddigon's muzzle, stopped in place as Crag simply raised a hand to stop the attack. Despite taking the entirety of the energy placed into the attack, Crag only stumbled for a moment and recreated his smirk.

The Druddigon was quick to open his maw and let out a bout of flames to throw Skipp off guard. As the Flygon was recoiling, Crag charged both his arms with energy and battered Skipp's belly with two, hard-hitting jabs.

The second sent Skipp sailing into one of the nearby marble columns. He recovered almost instantaneously, showing no signs of fatigue.

Skipp made sure to dig his claws into Crag's rough hide this time with energy, rather than simply try to grab him. Overcoming the initial sensations of pain, he tilted his arms upward as to stop Crag from pushing back.

In a few seconds they were both airborne. Crag bit down roughly around Skipp's collarbone with a Fire Fang, prompting the Flygon to flinch ever so slightly. He wasted no time in dropping the Druddigon, but not before charging his tail. Spinning, he smacked Crag away with a hard-hitting Iron Tail, sending him to land awkwardly on the Gym's front desk before rolling off back behind it.

Skipp roared as Crag didn't make his reappearance instantly. He landed back on the ground almost silently, still on guard.

"What the hell is going on in here?!"

Skipp paused for a moment, looking towards Drayden's office. In the hallway, Alder had appeared, hand grasped tightly around one of his own Pokéballs.

In his lack of concentration, Skipp didn't recognize a Focus Blast sailing his way until it was too late. It hit him directly on the snout and forced him to the ground.

Before he could get back up, Crag was standing over him with a fist full of energy.

"Lights out."

* * *

This day was a cloudy one, certainly. I had long since been looking out the window, conversing quietly with Misa. We were high above Opelucid from our perch, but I wasn't feeling the view that day.

"Maybe we just wait for them to bring you to your team? They gotta show you the entrance then, right?"

"Maybe, but what if I get found out by then? I don't know how much longer I can keep playing this stupid part. I don't like what it's doing to me."

"Huh?"

"Like, back when we were training with Skipp last night. I'm becoming too much of a Zorua for my liking, and being forced to act like one whenever there's a dragon around is hardly helping. I don't like how my brain is affecting my thoughts, you know? I'm actually becoming a Zorua in my head, and I don't like it."

"Well, what do you do to feel human? What do humans do that you could do?"

"Most things that'd make me feel human are physically impossible right now. Walking on two legs, mainly."

"You can read in human, can't you?"

"It'd be too easy to be caught. I'm supposed to be too young to know how to do that kind of stuff."

"How do humans play with each other, then? Maybe we can try that sometime."

"Look, Misa, I appreciate you trying to help, but it's not that simple. The only thing that's gonna make me feel human again is actually _being_ human."

I sighed, laying my head down on my front paws.

"You know, we could alwa-"

The door slammed open, prompting both Misa and I to jump. Standing in the doorway was Crag, sporting multiple cuts and wearing a bloodied bandage around his arm. I was going to open my mouth before I noticed the intensity of his gaze.

"We're going. Come on."

"W-wait, Crag, are you oka-?"

He pushed past the doorway and stepped into the room, approaching the bed. I was rendered defenseless as he, without words, grabbed me by my scruff. Pinching it painfully between two claws, he lifted me up and left without words.

Misa could only watch as the Druddigon took me out of the room and shut the door behind him.

"I can walk for myse-AY!"

He had pinched me even harder to stop my complaining, eliciting a sharp whine.

As we approached the living room, however, Crag turned and began walking down the opposite hallway, leading towards the study.

 _Are we not going to the courtyard? What's going on? I know Crag was hurt in his fight with Jet, but this badly?_

Yet, rather than mess with the door to the study, Crag's attention was directed to the door across the hall.

I remained submissively silent as he opened the door to Drayden's room and dropped me on the bed. I took a few moments to regain my footing and to allow my eyes to adjust. Crag seemed to be fiddling with the gigantic, white feather Drayden kept on a stand on the bedside table. I had remembered seeing it while spying around in Drayden's room a few mornings ago, leading me to wonder why Crag had picked it up.

Crag, without words, walked over to the single bookshelf in Drayden's room and stuck the base of the feather purposefully into a steel object sitting there. I knew better than to open my mouth, but couldn't help but look away as a bright, orange light emitted from the metal.

When I chose to look back, Crag was already halfway back to the bed and ready to pick me up again. Looking behind him, however, revealed that the bookshelf was nothing more than a swinging door. A strong draft and the moldy smell of water greeted me in a cold blast of air.

"Training's gonna be different today. We're going to the caves."

Before I could protest, my paws were dangling in the air again as his claws threatened to break the skin on my neck. I couldn't do anything, and despite the shallow astonishment and excitement to see the basement, I quickly realized the conditions in which I would be seeing it were hardly favorable.

Behind the bookshelf were a set of stairs and pitch darkness. Even my vision couldn't pick up what was below. Yet, Crag began descending the stairs, closing the bookshelf door behind him and leaving us in total darkness.

I couldn't place an exact time on how long we descended, but I knew when we were at the bottom.

"W-why're we down here?" I asked, tail having long since been tucked between my legs. More than anything, I wanted one of Drayden's other teammates to come and get me. Even the Gym Leader himself, as suspicious as he was, would have been an improvement over Crag.

He dumped me on the ground, causing me to stumble as I hit the cold stone below. The pads of my paws were instantly freezing.

I heard something in the distance, leading me to believe we were in a much larger area than I'd expected. Something about me wanted to dart right back up the stairs there and then.

My breathing was the only sound other than the ominous clicks against the stone from quite a distance away. It led me to believe something was moving.

Something big.

"Vicus!" Crag called out, voice echoing on the walls of the cave. The name prompted me to remember that Vicus did, in fact, live down here. Was I about to meet him, after all this time of speculation? What kind of man was he?

" **Skemero. You've brought me something.** "

The voice was even and smooth, coming from everywhere at once. Perhaps it was the cave? Even then, the man's voice didn't seem to be strained; he wasn't yelling. How was it that he was projecting this far, from wherever he was?

"Yes… I brought a gift."

Crag's words seemed choked out. Was he… Scared? Scared of addressing Vicus directly?

I then realized what Crag had meant. This wasn't training, not in the slightest. Something was going on, and I really, really didn't like it.

I saw something.

Across the cave, there was a light. Like a fire, but a bright, teal blue. I watched, petrified as it grew closer. It was moving again. I could hear step after step of what I supposed to be gigantic claws on the stone floor. The light…

It was an eye. One, very bright eye. The second appeared out of nothing, and I could see large, black pupils shifting between both Crag and myself.

My vision began to adjust as it grew nearer, but, as it turned out, I wouldn't even need time.

Torches lit spontaneously behind us in brilliant, orange flame. They were lined against the back of the cavern, lighting the area around me. I jumped surprisedly, looking at them, astonished. Were they rigged with a mechanism to create fire?

The stomping stopped behind me. I knew I would now be able to see whatever beast laid before me in the torchlight. I didn't want to turn around.

I heard and felt a long, drawn-out exhale, the force and heat of which made my fur stand on end. I was quivering now, and chose to shut my eyes, genuinely terrified.

"C-Crag? What is that?"

"Turn around and look for yourself. You've been asking, haven't you? Wanting to meet and find out who Vicus was? Well, just turn around."

I could hear my heart in my ears. I was in danger.

I flooded my legs with energy in order to muster up the strength to turn around.

And open my eyes.

And look up, and up, and up.

Until I saw the harsh, blue eyes staring down into my own. Those of a dragon twice as tall as Crag, not to mention dozens of times as powerful.

The second legendary I'd met. Reshiram.

In his gaze, I was frozen.

* * *

"You're staying here."

"Like hell I am! I just lectured you on keeping secrets from me, and you expect me to stay here while you go try to resolve this on your own?! That Druddigon's a beast, Drayden! That's how all Pokémon act! He won't listen to you!"

"What do you know?!"

Drayden turned on his heel, pressing his face up against Alders in hopes of intimidating the champion.

"I know that even you're gonna have trouble subduing that thing until his energy is latent enough to stick him in a Pokéball. And, you know what? I'm your superior, Drayden, like it or not. I can insert myself into any operation I want. I have that right."

"This is a personal matter."

"Two of your dragons were trying to kill each other on League property! How is that a personal matter?"

Drayden scowled, choosing to leave Alder without a response in order to address Vulcan.

"Haxorus, I think you and I both know where Druddigon is and what he's doing."

Vulcan's face was pensive for a moment before his eyes lit up.

"Oh, gods."

"Check and make sure. Go straight there."

Vulcan didn't have to stay around to hear any more instructions. He was off, actually running out of the battlefield and taking off down the hall towards the lobby.

Drayden clicked open Skipp's Pokéball after having, thankfully, received it from Alder following the fight that'd broken out.

The Flygon was absolutely furious upon materializing, but a single stern glance from Drayden was all it took to calm him down long enough to listen. Drayden noticed how seriously Skipp had been hurt, but kept staring emotionlessly into Skipp's now-visibly blue eyes nonetheless.

"We will talk about your conduct and get you patched up later, but we need to subdue Druddigon and make sure he doesn't cause irreparable harm to the operation with the hatchlings."

"The hatchlings? Why would he go for them?"

Drayden ignored Alder.

"Haxorus is going to Vicus now. You and Altaria need to check and secure the hatchlings, if they're still there. If they're missing, follow us downstairs."

"Drayden."

"Go, now."

Without further delay, Skipp and Seraph exchanged a glance of worry before taking off after Vulcan.

"Drayden!"

Alder's voice was imperative.

"Tell me what the hell's happening!"

They were the only two left on the battlefield, where Drayden had been talking with Seraph and Vulcan before Alder barged in and began spewing something about a fight. How he'd gotten Skipp's Pokéball in order to retrieve the dazed Flygon was unknown, but Drayden resolved to keep a closer eye on his belt, especially now.

"You want to know?"

"Yes! Why would I be asking otherwise?!"

He was at an impasse. There was no stopping Alder from coming along if he so pleased, but how could Drayden even begin to explain the things he kept in the cave system below the Gym?

Though, there was a chance. Considering Alder was still open to discussion, there was a way to sway him should he have been shocked enough over the gravity of the two legendary beings staying under his house. Perhaps, enough to sway him to think rationally about what was going on in the region.

Of course, Alder could have simply disappeared 'mysteriously'. They wouldn't find a body.

Though, Drayden reluctantly settled as that for Plan B.

"Then come and see for yourself."

* * *

Ice…

Ice…

My mind fumbled for another word, but that was all that came. Ironic, considering a god of fire stood before me. His eyes… They were of the coolest, icy blue I'd ever seen anywhere, in anything. They were full of life, albeit frigid and cold.

I could feel my soul melting, my core set ablaze by the purest of paradoxes set before me. I felt helpless, trapped in an endless uncertainty regarding how it felt… No balance was achieved. I stuttered for a few moments, subconsciously stepping away and trying with all my might to close my eyes.

Yet, his gaze tore through any facade I had put up over the previous few weeks. The sensation his stare alone invoked was pressing in on all sides, threatening to consume me entirely and leave me trapped, in a world of neither warmth nor cold.

" **I know your scheme, Skemero** " Reshiram said, the breath behind the words alone enough to blow my fur entirely on end. " **I'd be lying if I said Drayden hadn't alerted me that this might happen.** "

"Well. Here I am, with the ticket to getting Mew on our side."

" **Is it, now? Well, you've obviously gone through the effort of denying orders in order to bring him here. He's entirely yours.** "

"Wait, you're serious? Just like that?"

" **I am not here to judge whether or not your actions are in any of our best interests, but I will ensure you feel each and every consequence of your ambition. You wanted your answers? They're right here.** "

"Thank you, Vicus," Crag said, sending a small bow in the greater dragon's direction. Reshiram showed no emotion, instead opting to keep his gaze entirely focused on me. I couldn't even process the gravity of the conversation at hand considering the state of shock I found myself in.

"Okay, listen up! Every question I got is gonna be answered, one way or another. I know you're not what you say you are, so spill."

Almost instantly, I could feel Reshiram's energy slam into me from all sides, crushing me. Crushing my core. I knew my body wasn't breaking, but my mind was faltering. I tried pushing back, but the words just rose to my mouth.

"You're right," I croaked, unable to move from my position, unable to collapse. My legs were locked in place, as was every other muscle in my body. It was as if Reshiram's gaze alone turned me to stone.

"Huh. That was easy."

Crag stepped into my field of vision. I couldn't move my head to face him, stuck at attention and unable to escape the frigid blue of Reshiram's eyes.

"So, what _are_ you?"

The sensation again. It felt as if gravity had been multiplied by itself thousands of times, though I knew it was only in feeling. The answer rose to my tongue against my own volition.

"I don't know what I am!"

I could feel tears start to form and stream down my face. It was so painful… Indescribable. I had to lie, keep my guise, but how could I? The answer was the truth, to be honest… From Mew's inability to influence me to my lack of understanding regarding the true nature of my energy, I truly had no clue what I'd been turned into.

Crag shot a look of confusion at Reshiram, who seemed to simply just ignore the Druddigon. This was to be his interrogation, after all.

"Ray really didn't hatch your egg, did he?"

"N-no…"

"Thought so. Why did you lie t-"

"I believe I made myself _rather clear_ in our discussion!"

The booming voice came from across the cavern. I could see Crag's face flash with the slightest bit of fear.

"Too late, Vulcan," Crag said, turning back towards me and opening his mouth to ask another question.

"I swear to every god on this earth, if you don't step away from that Zorua _right now_!"

"It's not a Zorua," Crag said simply, narrowing his gaze at Vulcan. "Look at me. You and your weeks and weeks of observation on a goddamn _hatchling_ gave you less info than I got after three questions!"

A moment of silence.

"Vicus, stop this, please," I could hear Vulcan pleading. "Without this kit, we have no way of getting to Me-"

" **Draecarth… If you want Skemero to see his wrongdoing, then let him continue.** "

Draecarth, Skemero? I hadn't heard these names before, but Reshiram was addressing Vulcan and Crag. Were these, perhaps, the dragons' real names? I remembered that I knew nothing more than their nicknames, the names I had come to know them by. Reshiram addressed them by their true names, despite my presence?

"What? Vicus, please! Teaching him a lesson isn't worth blowing the entire operati-"

" **He has gone against the resolution of the team and acted selfishly. Let the weight of what comes next lay on his shoulders, and his shoulders only.** "

A scowl formed on Crag's face.

"I'll show all of you!" he yelled out, turning a now bloodthirsty glare back towards me. "Why did you lie to us?"

Another constriction. I tried writhing, but quickly found I couldn't. I was just able to open my mouth to scream silently in agony as I felt Reshiram's influence lick at my core, threatening to engulf it entirely.

"I-ACK! I was scared! I wanted to kee-keep my friends safe."

Tears were freely flowing now. I wanted to cry so badly, but couldn't. I was unable to blink.

"Crag," Vulcan tried reasoning through clenched teeth. He seemed nervous. "Mew can see us, right now, torturing what may, as far as we know, be her own, personal creation! Stop this! Please, she'll kill us all!"

"Safe from what?"

"Safe from," I hissed, clenching my teeth with all my might to stop the words from coming. "Safe from _you_."

"Me?"

"All of you… Drayden, the-unf… The league."

"Y'see, Vulcan! He was lying to us the whole time!"

"You need to _stop this_. Now."

A rush of footsteps from behind. A screech. A ruffle of wings and shouting voices.

"Seraph, stay back!" Vulcan exclaimed, presumably holding the Altaria back as she arrived on the scene.

"Crag! So help me I'll tear your eyes out!" I could hear her scream, a mix between speech and primal screeches.

"You'll thank me for this," the Druddigon scowled simply, turning his attention back towards me.

I couldn't speak, couldn't plead for someone to just let me go… Maybe if I could reach out to Seraph, she would be compelled to help.

I arduously shot an illusionary connection in her direction. It took so much effort, but I got to the point of nearly being able to shove some words through the feeble string of energy.

I felt it snap… Snap in two. My string of energy was cut in two _while_ it was extended towards another. Like a pair of scissors had snipped right through it…

The pain to follow was, put simply, unbearable.

I screamed, audibly this time, breaking from Vicus' influence for the smallest of moments to convulse and writhe in place. I dropped to the floor, seizing and screaming.

Through it all, I could hear Crag's footsteps steadily approaching.

"Now you done it… You overexerted, didn'tcha? Tryin' to trick us with Illusions when Vicus's got his power on you."

My mind felt like it was tearing itself apart. I couldn't fall unconscious, no matter how hard I tried.

"Tore straight through. Oh well. You'll heal eventually, I guess."

I could feel my own energy dwindling. I felt so, unbearably weak. I couldn't have stood, even if I tried.

However, much like the time I had experienced Mew's presence inside me, there was a spark.

A spark that lit the flame that soon engulfed me entirely. This, however… It was simply too much for my body to manage. I could feel as the newfound energy tore at the bonds in my skin. It threatened to rip me apart entirely.

Eventually it grew uncontainable and pushed past the surface. I could hear the collective gasps as a sudden whoosh filled the room.

When I opened my eyes, I sure wish I hadn't.

I wasn't stuck, yet again, in Reshiram's gaze. Rather, he was now dozens of feet away, bent over and crouching apprehensively, looking at me with those same blue eyes, though they'd lost their intensity.

Crag had thrown his arms, up, apparently having been pushed back about ten feet by my discharge alone.

The flame never died, as it had when I discharged before after Drayden's attempt to put me in a Pokéball. I could feel it invigorating me with a sense of power.

" **Enough.** "

The stare was back… Despite my resistance against it, I was left captivated once more under its power.

" **Your power… Why do you not resist?** "

His presence was pushing down on me again. I tried pushing back, but ultimately failed. Words rose to my mouth again.

"I don't know what you mean! I don't know how!"

The answer seemed to trouble even Reshiram, who had been entirely calm up until this point.

"You guys see! He's a danger to us all! We need to break him, now!"

Crag had almost instantly gotten over his surprise following me discharge, and was rather quick to use it as a reason to continue. Reshiram seemed much more reserved, but opted to continue holding me in place with his eyes.

"So he really did go on with it," Drayden's voice piped in. Apparently he'd arrived as well, and was smart enough to maintain his distance… At least I wasn't hurting anymore. The presence of the excess energy inside me was incredibly uncomfortable. It was a pressure quickly growing, prompting the need to discharge again.

So I did, forcing my power levels to fall back to what I hoped was norma. As the discharge was less powerful than the last, Reshiram maintained his ground. Crag's scowl grew only worse.

"What the hell?!" Alder's voice appeared. Had he entered with Drayden? "Is… Is that-?!"

"Vicus, you need to remove yourself," Drayden said gruffly; I almost saw it as a command to what was clearly the greater and more powerful being. "The Zorua is a hazard."

" **Continue your questions, Skemero, if you still find yourself unsatisfied.** "

He was back, back in the apathetic mindset he'd held before… He seemed rather adamant in letting Crag ride out the entirety of the situation on his own.

"Drayden, what the hell is happening?! What is this?!"

"Alder," Drayden responded, obviously frustrated. "Shut up. Shut the fuck up. Can't you see there are a bit more pressing matters than your stupid questions?! There's a kit being held hostage!"

"Then call him off!"

"What do you think I'm trying to do?! I can't go marching in there!"

"Why not?!"

"If I was to tear the kit away from Vicus' influence without his consent, he'd die instantly!"

I had never heard Drayden so imperative in his speech, and I believed this was the first time I'd ever heard him swear. One could even say he was anxious, beyond all else. Terrified, maybe? Everyone was terrified here.

Crag, despite all the argument to explode around him, continued his questioning.

"What can you tell us about your discharges?" he asked without even so much as thinking of the potential consequences of continuing. "They dangerous?"

"I… I don't know," I breathed out. The fire was quick to begin burning once more and fill my system with even more energy. I discharged before it became too much to manage. What was happening? Where did this power come from? Was it permanent?

"What's Mew's influence on you? Is she controlling you right now?"

"N-no," I choked, unable to breathe. "She… Saved me…"

I tried remaining as inconspicuous as possible while under Reshiram's influence. However, I knew the end to all this was inevitable.

"Saved you from what?"

"The… U. P. F… They attacked us and… I… Ack!"

"Keep going."

I was crying again, trying to turn myself away from Reshiram. I was only a few seconds away now… I could feel the words coming.

"I was… They… Ungh… They killed me, and… Stop! I… She made me a new… Body. I was tainted."

I wanted to vomit; I was sure the desire was heard in my voice.

"A new body? So you weren't born a Zorua."

"N-no…"

"If you don't know what you are now, then what _were_ you?"

That was it… The million-dollar question. I tried looking for ways to avoid it, but, as expected, the answer came up like bile. I tried swallowing it.

"Eh… S-stop… Agh! I can't… I… No! Ra-... I was… I'm…"

Time stopped as they came.

"I'm Ray."

Silence. Complete and utter silence. Reshiram knew it was time to let me free. I discharged yet again as I fell, muscles feeling too weak to stand on. I could hear heavy, exasperated footsteps from Crag's general direction. He knew now the grave consequences of his imposed interrogation. I could hear someone's quick, shocked translation of the revelation to Drayden's ears.

"What, what happened?"

Alder was the only one talking now, but soon fell silent to fit the mood.

I could feel it. The inevitable wave of guilt and shame flowing over me. I could feel everyone's stares one me now. It was all I could to to curl up into a ball and hope to disappear entirely.

Yet, in the silence I heard a rattle, before everything went still again… Another rattle. I perked my ears, despite my being so distraught.

I could hear Drayden cursing silently under his breath in the background. His tone led me to harbor a sense of fear, more than anything. He was terrified, actually… Of Mew? They had just tortured her trainer, and Drayden seemed to know immediately the consequences it would have on his plan. Crag was of the same mindset, apparently.

"Nox?"

Seraph's voice was approaching. I felt heat rise to my face as I fully grasped the implications of what I'd just revealed. She herself sounded on the verge of tears.

"Nox? What did you say?"

The rattle again. I looked towards its source out of the corner of my eye.

There was a podium through the darkness, a darkness only I myself could see through. Out in the open, completely; where Vicus could access and watch it at any time.

A Master Ball. I narrowed my eyes as conviction, rather than regret and sadness, filled my system.

"Nox," Seraph said, a little more sternly. "Answer my question."

I looked at her through tear-filled eyes with hatred. I noticed Skipp had also arrived on the scene, with Misa kept protectively by his side… Perfect.

"I told you to stop," I choked out, "It would've all been so much better if you just let it be, but no… You had to come find us, you _had_ to capture us… What do you want me to say, Seraph? After all this time, the guy you've been looking for has been right under your nose?"

The Altaria seemed taken aback. Her eyes widened as she recognized me for what I truly was.

"No… Please, Nox… Say it isn't true."

"I didn't want to tell you. I didn't want to ever have to tell you. But everyone kept pushing, and pushing, and finally… It's out there. I'm done."

My stalling had worked… I had built up enough energy without discharging. Feeling confident with the overflow, I shot out connections to every single creature in the vicinity.

"I guess it's all over, then. And now you're all fucked."

I took off, sprinting as fast as I could in the direction of Mew's Master Ball. I'd made it about twenty feet before I looked back.

Seraph was still stationary, looking down where I had been with a growing sense of betrayal. My Illusion had worked. As unpracticed as it was, it worked! They believed it, if even for a short time!

Drayden was the first to speak up, however, as I'd nearly made it. He seemed the most inclined, if one excluded Reshiram and the distracted state he found himself in, to notice the fact that my energy, however inconspicuously, was influencing him.

By the time he could deduce my plan, however, it was too late.

I let the Illusion drop as I rammed into the white marble podium, knocking it over entirely. I then lunged forward for the Master Ball as it fell onto the rocky ground below and rolled.

A roar came, shaking the entire cave system to its core. I could hear Reshiram as he opened his maw in the hopes of incinerating me with flame.

Even then he was too late. The roles twisted. I made _him_ freeze as I rounded the Master Ball and placed a paw on the button. The fear in his eyes right then was worth everything he'd done to me in the minutes prior.

"Let's have a chat," I said, pressing down.

* * *

 **One more chapter to go in what will probably go down as my least favorite act. And boy, do I have to say I** _ **hate**_ **this chapter.**

 **No, not all of it. I actually rather liked the last scene, and the chapter as a whole wasn't one of my weaker moments in writing. In fact, the only thing I explicitly didn't like about this chapter was how quickly I had to resolve Misa's feelings about Ray after Mew's intimidation. It was how I wrote it that makes me hate it so much.**

 **What you've just read is the first time in this fic that I've skipped sections of story. While writing this, I got about 2000 words in when I realized I had writers block for about ¾ of the chapter to come. To fix that, I decided to write the ending scene (everything from "Ice" onwards, as I'd been planning it for months and I couldn't wait to get to it).**

 **Problem was that I didn't get around to writing the rest of the chapter until about a month after I finished writing the end scene. This is the first instance of which I actually finished the chapter itself a day before publishing.**

 **I don't like how long it took to write. Everything from Ray's scene with Skyla to Crag bringing Ray down into the caves. I just didn't like it, and I hate the fact that I skipped it entirely initially. Huge props to my beta (who wishes to remain unnamed) for cranking out editing so quickly. Well, lesson learned at the very least.**

 **Next and final chapter of Act II will be up in two weeks on Sunday the 25th, as usual. I'll have more news then on my plans for Act III. Hoping to hit 100 followers by the time I begin publishing Act III, so fingers crossed!**


	23. Clash of the Titans

**Important information regarding the update schedule for Act III is in the footnotes. Thank you all for your continued support: Here's the finale to Act II.**

* * *

 **Chapter XXII - Clash of the Titans**

* * *

I marveled at the collective fear every single creature in the room showed as I pressed that button, releasing the brilliant, white light I embraced as a savior.

Finally, this arc of our story was over… I'd won the battle for us.

At the very least, I felt like I had.

Mew was facing away from me as she materialized in the air, though I could only guess the ferocity in her blue-eyed gaze…

I couldn't help but let my eyes rest on Seraph, who was staring at me with shock in her eyes. Initially, I couldn't help my let my face soften as I saw her so silently broken. I blinked a few times.

"You feeling alright?" I proposed to Mew to get my mind off the subject, feeling safe now that she was keeping everyone at bay with her glare alone. I was glad I didn't have to witness it.

" _Better than alright,_ " she responded, popping her neck by rolling her head around.

" **Mew,** " Reshiram greeted as if nothing were wrong. " **I understand this isn't the greatest of circumstances, but please… Please, just listen for a moment.** "

" _I think you've done enough already, Reshy,_ " she replied, feigning lightheartedness in her voice.

" **I know we've had our disagreements in the past, but I only hid because I-** "

" _Coward,_ " Mew laughed spitefully. " _Look at Reshy, the big 'ol mean dragon, the mastermind behind the capture of Mew!_ _I woulda just had a nice talk with you if you actually wanted something from me… But you put me in a ball, Reshy, and I really don't like that. Then you masked your core so I didn't recognize you… That's pretty mean of you._ "

" **Mew-** "

" _But, I'm not an idiot. I'm not gonna kill you, Reshy. You're too important, and I'm gonna have a_ _ **ton**_ _of fun punishing you._ "

She raised an arm and clenched her fingers into a fist. I could see a response from Drayden, as his hands shot up to his throat. I noted with shock that she was choking him with her psychic abilities.

" _I'm just gonna kill your little machine here, and we're gonna have a nice 'ol reunion. Gonna have to wait a bit, though, I'm gonna make sure this is nice and slow, for that complete bullshit he pulled when you captured us._ "

" **Mew,** " Reshiram spoke quickly, bowing his head in submission, " **Drayden was only following my orders… He's done nothing but care for your human, the entire time he's been here, even without knowledge of his true identity.** "

Mew didn't reply. After a few moments, however, she sighed simply.

" _Fine, fine,_ " she said, letting go. Drayden fell to his knees and gasping for breath. " _But somebody's gotta get hurt here for what happened… Are you saying it should be you?_ "

I was growing quickly scared of Mew's attitude. I couldn't control her. She was _pissed_ , and I surely didn't want to get involved in the crossfire.

" _Hmm… Who to pick, who to pick. Ray, mind pointin' out which of these stupid little dragons was the most mean to you?_ "

I opened my mouth to tell her to knock it off with the schtick… I was hoping we would be able to flee at the first chance we had together, but Mew seemed to have other plans. She interrupted me before I began, however.

" _Ah, don't worry about it. I already know who I'm gonna kill. Little Haxorus back there was actually pretty smart! I_ _ **did**_ _see everything…"_

She disappeared from next to me, leaving me fumbling for words to say… I now felt the slightest bit of regret for releasing her… What was to come next surely wouldn't end well.

I could see she rematerialized in front of perhaps the most terrified individual in the room.

Crag. Her eyes were now about six inches from his own. She was practically laying on the end of his snout in a tantalizingly inaccurate guise of contentedness.

" _Not so tough now, are ya?_ "

"M-Mew," Crag stuttered, finding he couldn't even find the courage to back away from the legendary, "I d-didn't mean to hurt him, honest! I just… I'm sorry!"

" _Aww, that's okay, buddy,_ " she said, reaching out with her stubby arm to pat the quivering Druddigon between the eyes.

" _I forgive you._ "

Time stopped…

…

…

All that could be heard was a loud thump.

There was no gore, no violence, no pain.

The result in the end, however, was the husk of a dead Druddigon. He was long gone by the time his body, empty of all life, hit the floor.

" _Phew-ee!_ " Mew exclaimed. " _Hey Reshy! I thought you didn't like it when your little minions lie! Well, I musta done you a pretty big favor here, cuz he was just lyin' through his teeth to me!_ "

It took everyone a moment to process what had just happened. I could see the shock on everyone's faces. Misa turned towards me, unbelieving.

An uncontrollable sense of regret spawned… It'd been a mistake releasing Mew.

" _You thought you could_ _ **catch**_ _me?_ " Mew asked nobody in particular, looking around the room with wildfire in her eyes. Her voice boomed in everyone's heads, to the point it made an echo in each creature's brain.

Reshiram seemed like the only individual not shocked by the events. He kept his temper well under control.

" **Mew…** "

" _What're you gonna do, Reshy? Call the disobedient Pokémon back its ball? Huh?_ "

The Master Ball, empty, began levitating from its place on the ground and shot off towards Mew like a bullet. It stopped suddenly, a few feet next to her head.

For the first time since her release, I saw _real_ rage engulf her face as she clenched roughly with her fist for emphasis, strengthening her hold on the ball and easily breaking through its failsafe mechanism, proceeding to crush the thin steel into near-nothingness.

I could see wisps of energy coming out of her with rapidly increasing intensity. Reshiram took a few steps back as Mew's stare bore into him with hundreds of times the force he himself was capable of conjuring. And yet, he was resolute in the face of her rage.

Drayden finally seemed to finish absorbing what Mew had done previously, however, as her attention was away from him. Crag was dead… In an instant, gone… His companion, lifeless in the blink of an eye. He couldn't have even put up a fight!

To go out in a most disgraceful manner… Even if he broke the chain of command, he didn't deserve death, especially when he couldn't fight against it.

He took a step forwards, clenching his teeth in pure, unadulterated rage. His golden eyes seemed to ignite, commencing shortly afterwards in a soft glow.

" _Uh oh, somebody's angry,_ " Mew taunted, gloatingly shifting her gaze from Reshiram to Drayden. " _Sorry, shoulda thought of what would happen when you put a Master Ball in my face. Unfortunate how karma works, huh?_ "

Drayden took another step forward. Mew bitterly laughed him off.

" _Hey Ray!_ " she called out, turning back towards me with the evilest of smirks. " _I think I figured it out! Y'see, Drayden are you are like two peas in a pod! You know how I came to you and asked you to be my trainer?_ "

I fit the pieces of the puzzle together in my mind before she could finish.

" _Guess who's Reshy's trainer! Huh, what a coinky-dink!_ "

That would explain every single question I'd had regarding Drayden's behavior since I'd arrived. His strength, his power… Reshiram's energy was inside him, enabling him to perform superhuman tasks.

"Mew," I spoke out for the first time, yelling across the cavern as I took a few, timid steps forward. "Let's just go, please… I didn't want you to kill anyone!"

" _..._ "

"Let's just get the team and go, please? This doesn't have to end any worse than it already has."

" _What? I thought you'd be happy! He hurt you._ "

"People hurt me all the time! It doesn't mean we should kill them!"

Mew turned fully towards me as some of the intensity left her eyes. After blinking a few times, she looked around confusedly, as if she herself had realized what she'd just done.

" _Ray?_ " she asked, tone more reflecting of fear than of hatred.

"Let's just calm down, okay? I know they hurt you by putting you in that ball, but we're okay now. They never hurt me. I'm fine."

As if to sharply contrast the point, I discharged once more as the mysterious, excess energy rose once more to uncontainable levels.

I ignored the fact I stood now only a few feet from Seraph as I continued towards Mew. It was as if the dragoness was frozen in place entirely.

"Mew, if you want me to be your trainer, you have to calm down. We don't have to listen to what Drayden or Reshiram has to say, but we just _can't_ kill anybody! I didn't like Crag almost as much as you didn't Mew, but he didn't deserve that."

" _I…_ "

"Revenge feels nice, but we still don't know why they did what they did… We just need to leave. They don't deserve to be scared like this."

I could see resolution flash across Mew's face. She stood down, simply levitating lower to the ground in what I hoped with all my heart to be shame.

" **Drayden, if you attack Mew, everything we've worked towards will be out of reach. We can still fix this.** "

Drayden had made quite the advance on Mew, his glare only increasingly powerful by the second. Mew looked at the distraught Gym Leader out of the corner of her eye.

" _Go ahead,_ " she mentally sighed, " _You get one free shot. I probably deserve it._ "

A thin silence fell over the room as Drayden stopped before Mew, sizing her up. She was now floating at about his chest level, eyes downcast.

His fist glowed a brilliant orange for a few seconds before he turned and punched her in the side with all his might. He yelled with much the same ferocity I'd heard from Crag during our training sessions prior.

As Mew recoiled in obvious pain, Drayden jumped forward for another hit.

Vulcan was there, however, to wrap his arms around his trainer and bring him to a halt. He held the writing human still, disallowing him from advancing further to fight her.

"Damn it! Damn you! Let me go!" he yelled in as booming a voice as he could manage. Augmented by the raging amounts of energy I now knew he held, the walls managed to shake from the intensity of the sound. "Vicus, do something!"

Reshiram simply resigned himself to look upon the situation with neutral eyes.

"I hope you burn in whatever hell gods go to! All of you!"

" **Drayden, my power is inside you to protect yourself and understand your dragons, allowing you to be a more effective partner. Not to abuse it on petty revenge.** "

"She killed my friend!" he yelled out, unable to break Vulcan's hold on him. The Haxorus was struggling. Was Drayden… Crying?

Crag's body still laid, lifeless on the ground. I still found myself unbelieving of the fact, but Drayden was right… I widened my eyes at the sight, before turning to look for Seraph's reaction to the scene.

I wish I hadn't… I would rather have heard her yell and scold me a thousand times over than see her eyes in that instant, fiery and full of hatred.

"I hope you understand what you've done," she hissed at me, choosing to turn away from me with all the spite she could muster and rejoin Skipp and Misa, who were still standing near the stairs. Skipp tried looking on the scene with indifference, but failed miserably. Misa was staring me with an imperative gaze, as if to ask what I would have her do.

Alder was standing behind them, looking on the scene with an out-of-place sense of apathy. Did he have no reaction to what had just happened?

" **He had it coming for him, as horrible as it is to say** " Vicus said. " **Skemero had the option to cease his interrogation of Mew's ward, but chose not to. He may have had the best of intentions, but he betrayed us all.** "

"You coward! Ass-kisser! I stick my neck out for this mission and you're going to betray me like this?!"

" **Mew, I can't hope to amend whatever feeble relationship we may have had before this,** " Reshiram readdressed Mew, ignoring Drayden's insults thereafter, " **but there's significantly greater problems at hand.** "

" _You think I haven't noticed? Your numbers are a bit off. Drayden said four when he captured me, but it's seven, Reshy. I'm countin' seven that are gone._ "

" **Seven of our kin. Nearly a third of the Primes. Nevertheless, we know who has them, and we know they have the capability to capture almost any of us they so desire. Even Arceus, Mew… You know they have him.** "

" _They don't have Arcy,_ " she countered, rolling her eyes. " _That's the advantage of being, y'know, the creator of everything that ever was and will be. He would tear the universe apart before he was captured._ "

" **Then where is he?** "

Mew remained silent, looking away from Drayden as his struggles slowly lost vigor.

He was now but an old man with no power, and elected to give up and begin sobbing. What could he do, in the end? Before him was the god of all Pokémon… Did she have the natural right to take whichever life she chose?

No, it was mockery, plain and simple… Drayden was unable to do anything as one of his teammates, his _friends_ died in front of him.

The worst part was that he was seemingly the only one to care… Each of his other dragons were, by comparison, unfeeling. None of them had known Crag to be a partner, or a friend, but still felt his death with a lesser, more muted sense of shock.

" _Don't ask me stupid stuff like that. I don't know where he is, but I know he isn't captured… Simple as that._ "

" **I suppose… Nonetheless, it hardly concerns us right now… Mew, I hope you know the reason I had you brought here…** "

" _Yeah yeah, you wanna team up or whatever, take on the bad guy together. 'Don't go it alone', touchy-feely garbage like that… I think I'll pass._ "

" **Mew-** "

" _You thought we'd be nice and peachy with each other after you did what you did to my human? After what you did to me?_ "

"' **Your' human isn't well, Mew… I have to ask instead what** _ **you**_ **did to him.** "

" _What?_ "

" **You've confided in him too much power. His energy is out of control.** "

As if to accentuate Reshiram's statement, I discharged again.

" _Tiny issue… None of your business, anyways. He's gonna get fixed up soon._ "

" **A human isn't a toy… It's not a** _ **thing**_ **that needs to be fixed. Tell me what happened.** "

" _Pfft, as if! You're gonna put me away in a ball for weeks and expect me to answer all your stupid questions after? What're you gonna do, huh? Question me like you did my human?_ "

" **You can't control him, can you?** "

The question seemed to strike a nerve with Mew.

" **You're correct Mew, I can't forcibly interrogate you, but everything I need to know is in your eyes.** "

" _Oooookay then… We're just gonna head out if you're gonna act like a weirdo. Ray, you ready to go?_ "

"Wait, Mew," I responded, walking with as little intimidation as possible towards the pair of legendaries. I continued on in Illusionary speech, as to keep secret what was still between us.

" _If he knows what's wrong with me, and what's blocking you out, then why don't we hear what he has to say?_ "

" _You kidding? He's crazy! Bonkers! Always has been. Him and Heatry, out of all the Primes, always just leaving a sour taste in your mouth, you know?_ "

" **He has your power, Mew, but it's not your power at the same time… You were its origin but it… Deviated? An accident. Once it was inside him and tainted, it mutated quickly into his own… Would you like to know why he's locked out to you, Mew?** "

Mew was now annoyed. Reshiram knew too much of the situation.

" **It's because you've inadvertently created a creature to be your equal, and he doesn't know how to let you in. A god, whose eventual strength, if truly tapped into, will tear the weak shell of a body he inhabits to pieces. A god you can't control without his explicit consent, which he doesn't know how to give, all despite his power once stemming from your own…** "

Mew turned towards Reshiram with a sense of suspicious confusion.

" _And?_ "

" **And yet, the tiny fraction of power coming naturally from his new body, the Zorua part of him… It was superficial enough to suppress the monster you created.** "

I discharged again.

" **His** _ **real**_ **ability began to leak out as he ripped a hole in his limited power… You've created quite the mess, haven't you?** "

" _A mess I'm gonna fix,_ " she promised in rebuttal.

Reshiram actually turned and addressed me specifically.

" **You will heal quickly, but if you intend to stay alive for long, you will not overexert yourself again,** " he commanded, shooting an icy glare that made me shiver. " **Imagine your core as a thin film, keeping all your energy trapped inside. If your core tears far enough, so do you.** "

I could feel Reshiram's power pressing on me from all sides again, as if he was ready to interrogate me further. However, it stopped before pushing and placing pressure on my core. I just felt heavier in the aftermath.

" _What makes you think you can tell him what to do like that? Let's not forget I'm the one in control of the situation here, huh?"_

Reshiram ignored Mew entirely, as did I. For whatever reason, I couldn't look at him with hatred, as I wanted. Mew was here to protect me now, so why did I have a problem expressing my true frustrations about what he'd been responsible for putting me through?

I looked back at Seraph, Skipp, and Misa again. I looked at Drayden and Vulcan, sitting huddled together on the stone floor.

 _Oh Arceus… What did I do?_

" **I'm going to keep my influence around you to contain Mew's power until your core heals from the trauma you've dealt it and a barrier can be reestablished. Considering the abundance of uncontrollable energy you've displayed thus far, I wouldn't be surprised if it was healed in a matter of minutes.** "

He brought his gaze back up to Mew.

" **I want to let it be known that it's in the best interest of all of us to stay together and strike the UPF with a combination of our abilities. I, once again, extend the promise Drayden offered you during your encounter. Remain here, with us, and we will work together as equals for the good of the entire world. Please…** "

Mew glanced between me and Reshiram both for a few seconds before sighing. She seemed about ready to speak as she closed her eyes.

Much to my surprise, however, she disappeared, leaving the room in a hanging silence for a few moments. When she returned, however, she wasn't alone.

" _Don't worry about the gigantic dragon, he's just a pushover_ " Mew announced sardonically to the entirety of my team, now present and bunched together near Mew.

I didn't even have to think before taking off in the team's direction. They seemed to be marvelling at Reshiram's presence, though they couldn't say it surprised them exceedingly. The entire situation was revolving around Mew; what more could surprise them?

Vita seemed to notice me approaching and, widening her eyes, broke away from the group to meet me halfway. Deftly wrapping her body around me, she had to adjust as I tried squeezing a hug in to the best of my ability despite my physicality.

"I missed you so much," I croaked out. It had been a rough few weeks, certainly. Not once in the last six and a half years had I gone so long without seeing my team. Vita, wordless, apparently felt the same.

"Vita! Don't hog him!" I could hear Axle yell. I poked my head out to see him and Victor had gathered nearby. Smiling uncontrollably, I squirmed out of Vita's grasp to fall before and get back up in front of the duo.

"You're alright!" I cheered Victor, who simply nudged me with a mandible as I approached. For Axle, I ultimately decided to bump heads as he lowered his own towards me. The gesture wasn't unlike the formality I'd performed with Misa before our failed battle the other night.

Taking a second to ground myself back in reality, I turned my head towards Misa. Skipp was keeping her close, while Seraph stared at the group of us with as much intensity as she could muster. The happy reunion was shattered as I let the fact Mew had just killed Crag grind away all happiness I'd witnessed in the previous few moments.

Somin approached last, looking towards Mew as she seemed to be exchanging a few private words with Reshiram. He blinked and focused his gaze on me.

"Hey…"

"Hi," I said simply, staring back up at him.

"Look, about that shit I said about Mew… I want you to know I was only trying to help you, dude."

I narrowed my gaze.

"I made a judgement call, and it was a bad one… Do I feel any different? No, but I'm real enough to admit I should've told you the truth."

"Vita tell you to say that?"

"Maybe."

I closed my eyes for a moment and shook my head in exasperation. As a sort of personal payback, I chose to shoot the Zoroark a question I was sure he wouldn't enjoy answering.

"So, you and Vita, huh?"

Even beneath his fur I could see him flush red.

"Screw off," he said, "I was gonna tell you about… That… But, y'know…"

"I'm happy for you, Somin," I interrupted. Aside, though still making sure Vita could hear, I continued. "Is it alright now, then, if I told her about all your complaining over the years about how she ignored you?"

"Hey!" he snapped, huffing when he saw Vita giggle with the comment. "Those were guy talks. Guy to guy. You say a word and I'll tell everyone about all _your_ lovesick complaints too. Capiche?"

" **Don't do this.** "

I could hear Reshiram speaking as conversation died down. We all collectively turned our attention towards Mew, who was apparently speaking to Reshiram privately. At Reshiram's command, she turned and looked for a moment at Drayden and Vulcan, heads hanging and now sitting quietly with each other, close to Crag's body.

A single Pokéball began hovering from his belt and was released while under her psychic grip. Jet, obviously irate, simply stamped a foot on the ground as he materialized.

"Jet!"

The Braviary looked first towards us, then towards Drayden and his remaining team, freezing when he saw Crag's body. As he turned back towards us, he seemed to catch sight of Reshiram and blanched.

"W-what happened?" he asked us, trying to ignore the gigantic, marble-white dragon looming over the entire scene.

" _Nothin' important,_ " Mew said simply, floating over towards us. " _You guys ready to go? We're finally leaving._ "

"We're not staying and helping?" I asked curiously. I thought the whole point of Mew's private conversation with Reshiram was to discuss specifics, as I believed she'd internally accepted.

"I fought him earlier," Jet said as if he hadn't even heard Mew's and my exchange… "He's dead?"

The team seemed to notice it for the first time as well. Drayden and Vulcan, sitting silently with eyes closed to mourn their fallen teammate.

"Whoa…" I heard Axle mutter under his breath. "What _did_ happen?"

" _Call it a misunderstanding,_ " Mew suggested. " _We can go through the whole story later, but we should probably, y'know, head on out… I hate it down here._ "

Drayden looked up for a moment to glare at all of us. A feeling of overwhelming guilt worked its way around my spine. It was my fault Crag was dead.

"Maybe it'd be good if we just do what Mew says," Victor said, looking away timidly from the searing gaze of the Gym Leader. "Y'know… Talk about this later and leave them time to be alone?"

"Wait, wait, wait," I said, sending a sideways glance towards Seraph, Skipp, and Misa. Some feeling, one I couldn't put my finger on, was beginning to rise towards the surface. "Mew, we're not teaming up with them?"

" _Did you hit your head or something? Course we're not!_ "

"Mew, if the UPF has Arceus, for whatever reason… If he's there, and we help them, we can change me back!"

The argument was improvised, plain and simple. However, I couldn't help but relay my true feelings on the matter.

" _Ray, please… I know you're the trainer and all, but we'll all be safer away from these nutjobs._ "

"Don't talk about them like that," I said, lowering my gaze. I knew now that Drayden truly was working towards what was right… Seraph, Skipp, Misa, even… I tried my best not to harbor feelings, but I ultimately failed.

" _I know it's quick and everything's happening real fast, but that's life now, Ray… I'm sorry to say it, but I kinda dragged you down with me, and the only way we're gonna deal with all this stuff is together, away from all the dragons and the crazy weirdos._ "

I saw an image of Skyla in my mind for a second. I hadn't even gotten to say goodbye.

I looked again towards Seraph, sending her the most pained, apologetic look I could. She exhaled slowly, turning away. Skipp was simply looking at me with a veil of shock, while Misa…

The Axew was obviously conflicted. She exchanged a few, unintelligible words with Skipp.

"Misa?" I called, ignoring my team as I began walking across the cave. Seraph stepped in between Skipp and I protectively.

"You're not dragging _her_ into this too," she spat as I stopped, about a dozen feet away. My ears folded and my tail darted between my legs.

"Seraph, I'm sorry I lied to you, to all of you, bu-"

"You led me on like it was some sort of joke! You _bastard!_ "

I took a step back in shock. Seraph still trying to choke back tears.

"Mew's right," Seraph continued, reluctant tears falling down her cheeks at random intervals. "You should leave. Leave _now_."

I peered around Seraph to get a good look at Misa. She was looking at me with incredibly confusion. I tried motioning for her to come, but Seraph once again blocked my view, ruffling her feathers as she took an aggressive step forwards.

"Alright, I think that's enough of that."

Alder's voice cut through the tension in the room, attracting all eyes towards him. Seraph, Skipp, and Misa had since moved away from the stairwell, leaving the Champion alone near the exit.

" _Right… Forgot he was here. Okie dokie, I'll take care of this quick._ "

"Mew, wai-"

She completely ignored my protest to the matter, popping out of existence and reappearing just a few feet in front of Alder.

However, the manner in which she reappeared was shocking, to say the least.

She was stopped, mid-teleportation, as if something was blocking her from moving in closer. Her form fizzled like static as the otherwise unstoppable movement of teleportation was interrupted. Stunned, she found herself unable to keep afloat and fell to the ground.

"This is something, huh?" Alder remarked, unfazed as the god of Pokémon was rendered defenseless for a few moments at his feet. "We knew Mew was here, but Reshiram? Been a while, hasn't it?"

Reshiram was confused at the man's casual attitude when it came to the situation at hand. Had they met before?

"I guess two for one is just karma. Makes up for the horrible luck we've had recently with all of you."

He unlatched a single Pokéball from the necklace-like rope worn around his neck. He released its contents with a neutral face.

I knew something was wrong before, but the Pokémon he released exponentially increased the pit I felt in my stomach.

A collective gasp could be heard… Reshiram roared, in anger and fear both, while Mew retreated back to the team, awkwardly running on the ground at first before finding her ability to levitate once more.

It wasn't one of the Pokémon one would see Alder fighting with in his common appearances on the trainer channel. It had a black, jagged body without legs, ending with a red accents around the neck, a plume of white extending and floating above the head, and a single, emotionless blue eye.

Two new legendaries in a single day. My world had grown much larger.

It took Mew a few seconds to notice I was still near Seraph, rather than back with my team. When she realized, however, she simply darted towards me.

I could feel pressure on all sides as I was lifted from the ground. The force… It was choking me, allowing for my mind to get off of the shock of seeing yet another god among us.

Darkrai.

"Thought you guys'd be missing one of your old pals," Alder put simply. Mew was left unable to help me as she was faced with one of the few creatures in existence that had the capabilities to defeat her. I could only watch her pleadingly as I was slowly floated closer and closer to Alder.

"Heeeeeey, Darky," Mew said aloud, hoping to garner a reaction from the creature as I was kept in place by his energy. He seemed lifeless, slack in posture and gaze downwards… It gave me the impression he wasn't completely present… What had Alder done?

"Been a while, huh? How've you been?" Mew continued, sending nervous glances in my direction every few moments.

No response.

"Reshy," she continued, aside. "What's wrong with him?"

" **This is what the UPF does to keep the legendaries they have in check… He's gone, Mew… He might have the raw power he may have had before, but any domain over that which he was a god over is now lost on him… An incredibly strong puppet.** "

"UPF?" Mew sighed frustratedly.

" **I myself spent some…** _ **Time**_ **at their facilities in the past… Drayden rescued me before I was too far gone, and I burnt the complex to the ground. It was a mistake to not ensure the deaths of all the Administrators…** "

 _An Admin? Alder's an Admin?! No, no, no, this is bad! Does he know I'm me?!_

" **Mew, I think we both know what we have to do.** "

She nodded, waving her tail agitatedly. Aside, she quietly gave Somin a command, one he wasn't even willing to protest.

"Man oh man… Y'know, you all gotta really give me a pat on the back here!" Alder said, smiling amicably. "You guys got _no_ idea the kind of work we go through just go get us some legendaries! You see, Darkrai here was a doozy to catch, and it was even harder to break him in. But I think he likes it with us, now."

Mew grimaced.

"I see someone's tryin' to teleport? Not much use, missie. That's the benefit of having this…"

He showcased a piece of metal on his belt.

"Scrambles energy, and the like… I don't know all the details, all science stuff I tend to leave to the nerds, but I digress."

I tried struggling, looking desperately towards Mew, Reshiram, and my team. Vita and Axle looked back, completely helpless, while Somin was seemingly an instant away from jumping towards the aggressors. Victor, surprisingly, shared much of Somin's conviction in this situation.

"You guys wanna know the best part?" Alder called out, "I expected Mew to be a bit more trouble, so I brought a friend. Good thing I did, too."

He unlatched another ball from his belt and released it. I watched with wide eyes as the light slowly grew, and grew, and grew to an even larger size than Reshiram himself. Distinctly snake-like in structure, it sprouted six legs as thick as treetrunks and wispy, black cloud-like wings.

Plates of gold stretched around its face and upper torso, leaving behind the appearance of a mask… I could faintly see Reshiram, resolute as I'd known him, quiver as he laid eyes upon perhaps the most powerful dragon in existence.

Giratina.

Mew's eyes, in that moment, lost any sense of hope they'd recently harbored… Yet another one of the few gods in existence that had the power to overcome her… She was put right then in a spot of unyielding worry.

She began breathing quickly as her own eyes met the soulless, red gaze of Giratina's.

"Reshiram!" Alder said cheerfully. "Here, lemme cut you a deal. I know you don't quite like how you were treated while you were with us last time, and I sure know you don't want to go back. Give me Alston and Mew, and your entire team can go free!"

"You son of a bit-" Drayden started, but stopped as Alder instructed Giratina to stare in the older man's direction. If the god of the underworld didn't know how to shut Drayden up, then he wasn't sure what would.

"Course, by that I mean I'll give you a head start… You'll still be labeled terrorists and hunted, yada yada yada, you know the drill. But you've done a pretty good job hiding yourself. Kudos on that."

"We can't take them," Mew said, strangely reluctant to use telepathy, as she looked fearfully towards Reshiram… "I mean, maybe if we got lucky, but we just can't!"

" **The Zoroark won't be able to use Illusions to get us out of here. That device of Alder's disallows us to manipulate energy inside a certain radius… If he were to cast an Illusion, it wouldn't affect Alder.** "

"We don't need it to affect Alder, we just need it to affect Darky and Tina!"

" **They hardly have a mind to affect.** "

"What?"

" **It would have just about the same effect as using an Illusion on a rock. Their minds have been reduced to… Nothing… An Illusion requires a mind to affect, a soul to deceive.** "

"So… They're gone… No coming back?"

" **Don't think of it that way…** "

"We just fighting them head-on, then?"

" **It might create a window for our teammates to escape.** "

Mew looked at me desperately yet again.

"O-ok… Hear that, Somin?"

"But Ra-"

"I'll get him. Don't worry about it."

" **Drayden?** "

The Gym Leader was glaring silently at the Champion, proceeding to close his eyes frustratedly and nod. Afterwards, Alder made no reaction as he returned Skipp, Seraph, and Misa to their respective balls on his belt before turning and slowly returning Crag's lifeless body. He looked to Vulcan for solace.

The Haxorus laid a claw on and gripped Drayden's shoulder reassuringly.

Afterwards, and silently, Drayden led the way towards the back of the cave. He looked at my team and reluctantly beckoned them.

"I'd guess Drayden would know the way out of here, huh?" Alder remarked. "Y'see, we found these caves a while ago, but for whatever reason… Nobody ever came out after they went in. Guess we know now why that is."

Reshiram and Mew's attention turned back towards Alder. To him, the two legendaries were simply conversing, more than likely about a strategy to defeat his own two beasts. He knew, however, that no matter what they did, escape was an impossibility. Drayden's and Ray's teams could escape, for all he cared. His true prize laid before him.

Mew began charging an attack, narrowing her eyes and setting her sights on me. Giratina simply stared her down, unflinching, as a flash of pink sparked into existence between her paws.

Yet, as soon as she attempted to feed the conceived projectile energy, she yelled out in shock and pain. A backfire, the attack exploded into light and blew Mew backwards almost as soon as it came into existence.

I could feel Alder sigh, relieved as Mew recovered and looked towards me with shock. She was quick to try again, readjusting herself and-

It happened again. She screamed in frustration as she shook her head back and forth rapidly.

" **Alder's machine…** "

"Yeah, I got it! Scrambled energy 'n shit!" Mew yelled at Reshiram, letting her paws form into clenched fists at her sides. "Thanks for the news flash, really appreciate it!"

Darkrai, with no warning, shot forwards towards Mew, specifically. Seemingly without any preparation or emotion whatsoever, he fired a superpowered Dark Pulse as he closed in. Reshiram reacted by lunging to intercept the opposing legendary, while Mew simply tried teleporting upwards to avoid the attack.

She didn't even move, form simply phasing in and out of existence for a moment or two before the attack connected. She screamed, thrown back even further.

Darkrai, turning, countered a couple quick jabs from the rapidly approaching Reshiram with a barrier before sending a shockwave of energy his way. Gritting his teeth, Reshiram took the attack with crossed arms before opening his maw and letting out a brilliant plume of flame.

Darkrai's attempts to dodge were rendered futile as Reshiram conjured a Dragon Pulse to intercept him as he flew. The attack didn't seem to have much effect outside of what happened to me.

I dropped to the ground, no longer held up by Darkrai's presence. In that lapse, I took the opportunity to try sprinting away, only to be scooped up by a large pair of hands.

"Where you going?," Alder said, flaunting his control over me by tucking my smaller body against his torso while sending a nasty smirk in Mew's direction. "Can't control your little Zorua when I have him, can you?"

I knew Alder's thinking to be flawed. Did he not see me as my own, sentient creature? Did he think me as a puppet controlled by Mew, one that couldn't be affected because of the neutralizing machine he wore?

My eyes met with Mew's, displaying an emotion of hopelessness I hadn't yet seen from her.

" **Are you alright?** "

"What do you think?!" she lashed out, turning and screaming at Reshiram.

" **Just try to** _ **concentrate**_ **, power through the effects of the machine. If they choose to attack together, I won't be able to fight them both.** "

Deciding it was finally time to jump into the conversation, I expressed my concerns to both Reshiram and Mew, who turned towards me attentively as I began speaking.

"If Alder doesn't know I'm Ray, then you guys should just leave!"

"W-Wh"

"Mew, listen. I don't like this as much as you do, but what are they gonna do to me? I'm a baby Zorua, for godsake! Torture? It's a ton more important you protect the team, and find a way to rescue me later."

" **Out of the question,** " Reshiram interjected as Mew looked towards me longingly. " **You have Mew's power, and Alder knows. You'd be treated just the same, and turned into a monster like** _ **them**_ **.** "

He gave a distasteful look towards Giratina, still unmoving.

"My power…"

Mew looked towards the ground pensively as Reshiram stood in front of her. Alder rolled his eyes, silently commanding both legendaries under his control to advance.

"If he has my power…"

Reshiram breathed flames in a wide pattern as to deter any more movement further. It had little effect. Identifying the bigger threat, he began charging a Dragon Pulse and took aim at Giratina.

"Reshy! Ray's inside the forcefield! He can attack Alder, can't he?!"

A flash of recognition shone on Reshiram's muzzle. He haphazardly fired off an attack at Giratina before turning and grabbing Mew's much smaller body in a single claw. Darkrai lunged at the opportunity.

Reshiram simply pushed past him, taking flight and darting with surprising speed between the gap left by the recoiling Giratina and the attacking Darkrai. Any further progress towards Alder, however, was halted as Reshiram slammed full-force into a barrier, presumably created by one of Alder's beasts to impede their movement.

The duo was now sandwiched between Alder and the mindless legendaries. There wasn't time to try and break the barrier to make further progress towards the Champion.

" **Ray,** " Reshiram began speaking hurriedly, loud voice still easily audible to me. Giratina darted forward, prompting him to push Mew out of the way and meet the attack with a Dragon Claw. He roared and breathed fire to keep Darkrai at bay, seeing as Mew was vulnerable.

" **Listen to me very closely,** " he said as he caught a break. " **I can't lift my restriction on you. My energy is the only thing keeping Mew's power from rising to the surface as your own core heals from overextension. I need you to break my influence.** "

"W-What?!"

I wasn't even sure the dragon heard me. Mew struggled, flustered, to stuff her claws with psychic power. Still scrambled, however, she couldn't keep a grip, leaving her only able to float and zip around Reshiram as she tried avoiding attacks.

" **Push, Ray… Find my energy, and push against it. As hard as you can. You can use Mew's energy to break free as long as your own core isn't there to hinder it. It's yours to control. Find it, and push.** "

He roared once more, this time in pain as Giratina landed a direct hit. Many of the projectiles Darkrai conjured for Mew ended up hitting him as a result of her incessant dodging. The two aggressors pushed in, leaving less and less room for escape.

I looked up towards Alder, who was watching the scene with a calm sense of satisfaction. I couldn't help but narrow my eyes in rage… All my problems over the last month, whether it be my attempted kidnapping, the successful murder attempt, or even my transformation, were his fault. Completely and utterly.

I had foolishly believed the only executive of the UPF was dead. Who would lead them after what I did, the action that undoubtedly set them on my trail in the first place, after fighting Drayden for his badge?

* * *

 _Exhausted and mind racing, I collapsed on the bed. There was no going back._

 _Vita was quick to enter the room after me, followed by Somin, not exactly in the best of moods._

 _The Serperior moved quickly and with purpose across the room, and despite my not seeing her through my pillow, I knew exactly the kind of lecture I was about to receive._

 _I could feel her vines wrap tightly and rather uncomfortably multiple times around my torso and neck. She spun me around, where I was in full view of her terrifying red gaze. She could have very easily killed me in that moment, if she so desired._

 _Yet, for once, she didn't intimidate me._

" _Ser, perior," she said sternly._

" _We did the world a favor, Vita," I replied, needing no translation. "Nobody good'll be missing him."_

" _Ser! Serperior, perior ser!"_

 _I looked to Somin for translation._

" _I can't believe you… After the amount of times I told you no."_

 _I couldn't help but feel the same statement applied to Somin._

" _Sorry, Vita, could you remind me when you were in charge of this team? I do as I damn well ple-"_

 _SLAP_

 _I cringed, mouth instantly closed as Vita struck my face with a vine. Instantly, I could feel the red-hot pain to boot._

" _Ser," she said aside to Somin as I recovered. "Perior ser."_

" _Zor…"_

 _She turned back towards me. I let my vision flood with anger as I struggled against her restraints. I licked at a bit of blood from where Vita's vine had made contact with part of my lip._

" _Sierra would've wanted this. My old man… The center of it all! That whole team, criminals, all of them! I killed him, and I'm proud of it!"_

 _I began laughing mindlessly despite myself._

" _I should get a fucking medal for what I did! I helped and avenged_ _ **everyone**_ _that's ever been hurt by what he did! They're nothing without him, nothing without their leader!"_

" _What if you've dug us all into a hole we can't get out of?! Are you stupid?! You've always been naive, but you can't be stupid enough to think they will let this go! We were fine before, but now?! We'll have to be looking over our shoulders for the rest of our lives because of some petty revenge!"_

 _Somin's translation was spot-on with the inflection and tone of the Serperior. It sounded exactly like her._

" _I killed their highest ranking member and one of their best mercenaries in a_ _ **single night**_ _. Like they'd come for me after that. I'm invincible! Somin and I, we did the impossible, and you're here, slapping me like I'm a kid!"_

 _Vita's eyes softened into one distinct look, that of fear._

" _What's happened to you? Me, and everyone else… We thought you were past this. Ray, this isn't right. You can tell me what's wrong."_

" _What did you want me to do?! Forget about what they did to Sierra? What they made me do to her?! You don't understand, and you never will!"_

 _A moment of silence. Taking this as an invitation, I continued._

" _You thought I moved on?! I would think you, more than anyone else, would know what that night did to me! I promised! I promised over Sierra's grave I would kill him, and I did just that!"_

" _Ray, I can help you. We can help you, just… I know this isn't you. I know Somin put you up to this, but I need you to remember. We all grew together as a family so much because of what happened, you matured so well. I thought we'd finally accepted things for what they were, but now. If you don't want me to see you as a child, then don't act like one and be the bigger person."_

 _I pushed against her restraints some more. A fire ignited within me, and began pushing towards the surface. A fire of rage, hurt, anger… Fear, sadness... It helped me push against her._

 _I clenched my teeth and growled… Wait, did I? Yes, growled. Growled, and let my ears fall flat against my head as my attempts to push began to hurt. Yet I continued._

 _Continued pushing, until the fire in my core exploded._

* * *

"What the he-"

A flash of light and a whoosh to be heard by all. Already feeling an immense buildup, I had let my newfound energy rush past my skin in the largest discharge I'd experienced yet.

Despite my remaining motionless, the same couldn't be said about Alder, who, without a tight grip on me, was thrown backwards and against the stairs leading out. I fell on the ground roughly as the wave of energy passed, shocking and freezing both Giratina and Darkrai long enough for Reshiram to take action.

He plucked Mew from the air and darted towards me with incredible speed for a being of his size. I could hardly let out a frightened yelp before he, without even stopping, scooped me up from the ground and changed directions.

Before I even knew it, I was haphazardly placed on the back of his neck, left only to dig my claws in as he leaped and flapped his gigantic wings, propelling us forward and yet again towards Giratina and Darkrai.

Targeting the former with a body slam of draconic energy, he allowed his attack to connect before following through and commencing his escape.

Alder, stunned, was unable to command either one of them to set up a barrier as a means of impeding our flee. However, noticing we were quickly out of sight, he sprinted towards Giratina, straddled him, and ordered his own duo to follow in pursuit.

Despite the tunnel system we were quick to find ourselves in being relatively thin, Reshiram, leaving Mew to fly close behind, was able to weave in and out of entrances with ease. Within only fifteen seconds of flying, we'd covered much ground, leaving all hostiles out of sight.

I shot a look towards Mew as I my claws only burrowed deeper into Reshiram's lower neck. If he felt it, he made no indication. Mew seemed pleased I was alright, and was in a good enough mood to smile and wave happily at me in a joking manner. I sent a forced and overly anxious-looking grin back at her.

Before I knew it, we were decelerating, and quite rapidly at that. Curious as to why we were stopping, I willed myself to peek over Reshiram's shoulder.

" **Drayden!** " Reshiram yelled before we'd even stopped. Coming to a sudden half, I nearly fell off Reshiram entirely. We'd stopped, in the middle of the tunnel, as we caught up to Drayden, Vulcan, and the rest of my team.

"Were you successful?"

"Reshy, we _really_ need to keep going," Mew complained. Reshiram chose to ignore her, and chose to speak after given Drayden a once-over.

" **You don't have their Pokéballs.** "

"None but the Braviary's… They're upstairs."

"Reshy?!"

I could feel Reshiram's frustrated breath at the reveal. " **Vulcan, you're to hide for a half hour before leading Ray's team out of the caves. I'll meet up with you at the entrance when I can. Stay hidden as best you can.** "

I shot a quick, terrified look towards Vita. She seemed relieved I was able to escape, but yet another sudden departure was hardly what she had in mind.

" **Drayden, on me. I'm going to need your energy.** "

Drayden blanched for a moment. "V-Vicu-"

" **You'll get it back. But now, I need any and all power I can possibly receive.** "

Drayden, quickly slipping back into a resolute demeanor, departed from the group of Pokémon and clambered up towards Reshiram's back. I made sure to avoid any and all eye contact I could possibly create with him.

A roar from behind, surely that of the enemy, was all the incentive Reshiram needed to begin flying again. I watched longingly as my team, guided by Vulcan, slowly but surely disappeared from sight.

Alder had made some serious ground, leading Reshiram and Mew to place even more haste in their escape. I could've sworn, while looking behind us every now and again, I could see the faintest traces of gold.

While anxiously watching the rear, however, I noticed Drayden was doing something. From his belt, full with a different assortment of Pokéballs, he clipped off one. Seemingly normal, I didn't notice that it was a dud until he opened it and revealed the spherical object hidden inside.

I didn't recognize it, but I did faintly remember Misa talking about it at one point or another. It shone with a bright, white light, rendering me unable to stare at it directly.

" **Don't let it touch me,** " Reshiram warned, unable to hide the smallest hints of fear in his otherwise booming, unwavering voice.

Nodding, Drayden simply grasped the object, able to fit comfortably in the palm of his hand. Clasping it with the other, now, he closed his eyes and creased his brow.

I widened my eyes as an apparent, gold outline formed around him promptly afterwards. Within a matter of seconds, however, said outline faded. Drayden fumbled for a moment, gasping for air.

"It's done!" he yelled over the volatile air pushing past us. Reshiram, having heard him, simply nodded.

The first of the projectiles came soon after.

Attacks sent to stop our progress were thrown haphazardly and at random intervals. I was confirmed my eyes weren't deceiving me in earlier moments, as Giratina could be now easily seen as we ducked in and out of tunnels, moving in a seemingly random direction.

Mew tried turning around mid-flight in order to erect a barrier, but figured she still didn't have any grasp on her powers. She groaned miserably and tried keeping as close to Reshiram as possible. In her attempt, however, she'd fallen far enough behind to become a possible target.

The Shadow Ball had come out of nowhere, nailing her with a direct hit. She faltered for a moment before realizing that'd taken much more out of her than comfortable. She doubled her efforts to keep up with Reshiram, and when she finally did, just about collapsed onto the base of his turbine-like tail.

"Mew?!" I tried calling out. I doubted she heard me, and even if she did, she was now seemingly too worn out to make any other effort than simply relying on Reshiram to save her. The attacks she'd withstood had proven to be too powerful.

She silently asked herself the last time she'd actually been knocked unconscious… A few dozen generations, at the very least.

Another stray projectile hurtled into a wall dangerously close to us. Somehow, I found a way to dig my claws even deeper into Reshiram's skin.

Yet, such an action was pointless.

The first attack to actually find a hit on Reshiram, albeit his right thigh, had the force behind it to shake him entirely. Without much traction, my claws came easily undone and I was suspended in the air.

Fortunately, I hurtled straight into Drayden, still holding the bright artifact high above Reshiram. He made no efforts to grab me, however, as I, without a way to grab on, slowly slid off to his right.

I caught his belt with a few claws, leaving myself dangling off of him as Reshiram began to maneuver evasively. I looked up towards Drayden pleadingly, begging for him to grab me and hoist me back up.

He acknowledged my presence, certainly, but did nothing. His arms were locked, determined in holding the shining artifact while keeping his own grip on Reshiram. Even though he could have just as easily lent a single hand to hoist me up, he froze. To him, the risk of dropping the ball and letting it come into contact with Reshiram was much more of a consequence than, however regrettably heartless it was, letting me fall.

I tried calling out to Mew, but it seemed she was still incapacitated. I knew she was still conscious, but was burying her head in Reshiram's feathers as if she had a splitting headache.

I looked towards Drayden again, pleadingly.

I could see it in his eyes. He wanted to help me, he truly did. Even after everything I'd done to lie and deceive him, he wanted to help me up. However, a single jostle from the legendary he rode would lead to a slip of the Light Stone. If the artifact came into contact with Reshiram, everything was over.

So, when Reshiram rounded a sharp corner, I could only let out a scream as I became detached from his belt and fell. Swiping frantically, I managed to dislodge a single, otherwise innocent Pokéball from off his belt.

There was a moment of silent shock as I fell, in which I pondered if what was happening was merely a dream. It was hardly as if Reshiram was moving away at all.

The pain I felt upon impact with the hard, compacted dirt floor told me otherwise.

To be honest, I wasn't that high off the ground to begin with. Perhaps just a measly fifteen feet. However, factoring in the velocity with which we were traveling, the landing was anything but kind. I rolled, again and again, clenching my eyes shut and hoping for the best. The breath was instantly knocked out of me as the world turned and writhed, leaving me unable to tell when I finally did come to a stop.

Everything hurt… However, much to my shock, no specific area seemed to resonate more than another. The pain was evenly split between all sections of my body. Had I not broken anything? I supposed that information was soon to come.

I opened my eyes as a whoosh of air slammed past me. I only caught the ends of Darkrai and Giratina, Alder included, as their party darted past me without so much as a second thought. Had they not noticed my fall? Perhaps we were far enough ahead as to avoid detection.

Yet, within a few seconds, I realized I was alone.

Alone, of course, until I heard Misa swear some sort of obscenity. I thought I'd been hearing things at first. A concussion, maybe?

But, her voice continued on, getting louder as she approached.

"Dude, what just happened?!"

I groaned as I let myself go limp again. Everything hurt too much to stand.

"Where's everyone else?! Why's my ball all broke and busted? Wait, you hurt?"

"Yeah," I groaned simply, not feeling well enough to convey my gratitude that she was present. "I took… A hard fall."

Was hers the ball I dislodged as I was falling off Drayden's belt? It was a stroke of luck I wasn't expecting, but very much appreciated.

"Ok, well, uh…"

It was obvious she didn't know what to do. My hope for the situation faltered.

"Where's Seraph? We can get you all patched up before, y'know, all the big guys show up again."

"Seraph isn't around. Neither are the 'big guys'."

"Wait, what? Where are we?"

"Still in the caves," I answered arduously. "Look, I'd really appreciate it if you stopped with the questions for a bit and helped me up."

Thankfully, Misa complied, hoisting me to my feet after testing certain areas of my ribcage to check for pain. She let me lean against her as I felt like my legs were going to buckle.

"I don't think anything's broken," I said simply. Turning back behind me, I confirmed what Misa had said about her Draco Ball. "Except that."

It was completely busted at the hinge, damaged too roughly in the fall to stay intact. She was officially a wild Pokémon again.

"Hey, you gonna tell me what's going on? That pink friend of yours… I saw her once. Is Crag really-"

"He's dead, yeah. Look, I can't explain everything right now. We need to get out of here."

The Axew peered at me aggravatedly for a moment before forcing a sigh of reluctant approval.

I thought back to the moment of indecisiveness Misa had held when I asked her to join me, just a few minutes before while we were still in the large cavern. She had nothing to do with any of this, and yet, she was here. She at least deserved to know what was happening.

"Now I don't really know if I even wanna hear those answers at all," she eventually said, defeatedly looking away. "In any case, where we going?"

"I… I don't know."

The caves seemed all identical to me, and I even remembered Alder discussing how confusing the layout was, as to completely entrap and confuse any who entered. Was such a maze escapable? I had no idea how far we were from the exit.

"Towards the exit, I guess? I got no idea where that is, though… Maybe it'd be best if we just stayed put and waited for someone to pick us up?"

My brain was quick to counter my own proposal. Perhaps Alder had seen us fall off Reshiram afterall, and planned to come and get us when he was readily available. I wouldn't let myself become a target, especially after my having played an integral part in the escape. He knew, at the very least, I wasn't a normal Zorua.

"No, we need to go… We need to get lost, or hide, or find the exit, or something. I don't know, but we need to _move_."

It took me a few seconds to realize Misa hadn't been paying attention to what I said. Instead, she was looking at the walls of the cave in confusion. Curious, I looked with her, but found nothing.

"Something up?"

"The grooves on the wall are a lot like my old cave."

"What?"

"Can you walk alone?"

"I don't… I don't think so."

"Well then, I guess we'll go slow. Either way, I think I can figure the way out."

* * *

If he was being perfectly honest with himself, Reshiram was exceedingly glad Ray had fallen off him. Of course, injuries may have played a part, but the next steps of his escape would be so much easier without having to worry about the extra creature. Mew would be able to find him later.

Speaking of which, he needed her to recuperate, and fast. He'd long since made a decision about what he was to do, but Mew was on the brink of unconsciousness. He couldn't execute his plan without her.

" **Give the Light Stone to Mew.** "

Drayden was instantly in objection to the order, knowing Mew still may have held a grudge against Reshiram. However, knowing not to disobey him in such a dire situation, Drayden slowly turned and began crawling down his spine and towards the exhausted Mew.

Light washed over them all as the cave system ended. Almost instantly upon reaching daylight, Reshiram took a sharp turn upwards, beating his powerful wings in unison to ascend rapidly.

Drayden nearly fell forwards and off of the great dragon as the ground disappeared behind them. He caught glimpses at Giratina and Darkrai as they still gave pursuit. Drayden, concerned by what lay before him, simply doubled his efforts to make it to Mew.

When he did, he was unsure of what to do. Despite his hatred for the deity, he tried rousing her softly, resulting in an uninvested swipe of her paw, mumbling something under her breath. Did she take this as an everyday wake up call?

Drayden, knowing she wasn't going to accept the artifact, simply pressed it up against her forehead, much in the same manner he had done previously with the Master Ball to encapsulate her.

Almost instantly afterwards, her eyes shot open, the store energy trapped in the Light Stone flooding into her system all at once. It was the jump start she needed in order to be set on alert again.

" _Reshy, how's it goin'?"_ she reached out, figuring she could once more use telepathy. Her powers were back!

" **Teleport us away! Now!** "

Mew, confused, shot a quick look behind them. Giratina and Darkrai were still rapidly approaching. Her fur stood on end, no qualms present regarding Reshiram's order.

Yet, she still couldn't teleport. It wasn't the same sensation as before. She _could_ teleport, but something was still blocking here.

" _No use! They got me blocked! You have to get out of range!_ "

" **I can't. With Giratina alone it may have been a possibility, but I simply can't outrun Darkrai.** "

As if his words had willed it, Darkrai pulled ahead of Giratina, accelerating towards them at a faster pace. Reshiram chose then to deviate from his course, taking a sharp turn to the left.

" _If Drayden's your trainer, he can just call you back into your Pokéball, right?_ "

" **You can outrun Darkrai on your own without teleportation? He's much faster than you, Mew.** "

" _Then we gotta fight!_ "

" **I'm weak, you're weak… We're not going to be able to beat them.** "

"Then we should split up?" Drayden asked all-too-hopefully. He didn't want to spend a second more in Mew's presence.

" **Maybe… Though, Alder would more than likely send Darkrai after you and Giratina after us. I can't outpace Giratina, and you can't outpace Darkrai.** "

A few seconds of silence passed, in which all three beings tried coming up with a plan. Reshiram, with an air of fear about his voice, continued.

" **I can see one way out of this, and I won't place the burden of suggesting it on the both of you.** "

" _Just hurry up and say it! Darky's almost caught up!_ "

Mew, growling audibly, fired a Focus Blast off the back of Reshiram, hoping to keep the readily approaching enemy at bay. In retaliation, Darkrai conjured a Dark Pulse that Reshiram only narrowly avoided.

"You'd have to rupture…"

Drayden was the one to say it, confirming his fears when Reshiram's head fell.

" _Wait, wait, wait… You're gonna rupture?! Even if Darky is on Alder's team, it doesn't mean he deserves that!_ "

" **There is no Darkrai, Mew. He's a slave, nothing more. The world has already been managing without him, so what difference does it make if I rupture? Do you have a better option?** "

He was nearly upon them now. Reshiram had since leveled out and was flying on, sending hopeless looks in Darkrai's direction every so often. Mew had a moment to think.

"Vicus! You can't be seriously considering this!" Drayden yelled on deaf ears. "You trust Mew with your stone?! You can't!"

" **To do this, Mew, I need to be able to trust you'll look after Drayden and his team. Promise me.** "

Mew couldn't respond. She could only watch Darkrai as he grew nearer, and nearer. Biting her lip, she shot another Focus Blast off of Reshiram's back.

" **Mew!** "

" _Fine, fine! Do it! I have your stupid rock, so just do it!_ "

Mew kicked off of Reshiram to fly alongside him on her own, promptly before reaching out and grabbing Drayden with a psychic hold. Roughly, she wrenched him away from Reshiram, proceeding to send the dragon a nod and take off in another direction.

Drayden, meanwhile, was yelling the entire way, hoping to prompt a reconsideration. In the end, however, he could only watch the scene to follow as he got further and further away.

Reshiram spun suddenly in the air, choosing to face Darkrai head-on. Giratina was approaching from a bit further back. He would have to make it quick. Sighing, he closed his eyes.

Mew was decently far away by the time the flash of light appeared. Drayden, having refused to look away, yelled in pain as he covered his eyes. They both could feel the heat of the explosion from where the distance they were at now. It would have been brilliant to see should they have been able. An explosion with the full force of a god behind it.

They were high enough off the ground as to mitigate any damage done to the trees below, but humans for miles and miles would see the light and peer curiously at it.

It definitely had more intensity than the explosion Mew had created on Mt Chimney. A shockwave passed over them right then, and she could of sworn she felt every single particle of Reshiram's energy packed into it.

She felt the Light Stone pulse as it rested, tucked between her paw and her torso. She looked at it, determining it was now shining. She let a small smile touch her face as she turned and noted Giratina and Darkrai were nowhere to be found. Reshiram's plan had worked.

At first opportunity, she teleported out of sight, a limp Drayden in tow.

* * *

 **Act II is complete, and I have to say I'm not entirely proud of it for a variety of reasons.**

 **There was an undeniable lack of action throughout, a decision I thoroughly regret. Much of the narrative got repetitive and stale in my opinion, making it exceedingly difficult to write.**

 **This chapter in particular was bumpy, at best. I felt like there were dozens of better ways to introduce Alder as a main antagonist, but I honestly couldn't put any of them into practice. I sneaked a few bits of foreshadowing here and there, but this entire chapter just seemed sudden and spontaneous, something I don't really like.**

 **If you thought differently, I'd be glad to hear it. Even though I'm not that far in, I'm sure I'm going to like writing Act III much better.**

 **Leading to my next point… Since this is the end of the Act, I think it would be in everyone's best interest to announce a hiatus. They're horrible, I know, but I won't feel at all comfortable publishing the story if I don't have a considerable buffer between what I have written and what I have published. However, unlike the last hiatus, this one is going to be a bit shorter…**

 **The first chapter will be published on June 1st, 2018. That may seem like a long time. However, to make Act III as good as it can be, I will need this time to write and edit. That's about three months from now. If I do end up finishing between now and then, I'll be sure to start publishing when I finish.**

 **This last publishing cycle lasted over five months, pushing a single chapter every two weeks. I'd like to thank all those that kept with me since the beginning, and I hope that we can continue on and make a decent story out of this.**

 **Now, for Review Responses. I plan to do these at the end of each Act, as a way of thanking everyone who took the time to review my story. Reviews, more than anything else, are what I love to see, so thank you all.**

 **Top Succ: I'm exceedingly glad that people are hypothesizing about the future of the story. It makes me feel like I'm building something that people enjoy thinking about, which is amazingly satisfying. Hope to see how your theories change (or remain constant) in the future!**

 **Aewynessa: Thanks so much for commenting on the revision of the First Act. I'm so glad I can be considered an inspiration, even in the general sense. It was your feedback that rested my anxiety regarding the revision in the first place.**

 **DracoDraconis55: Yes, Drayden can be a dick sometimes. Even if other aspects of his character were hinted at, I wanted to keep his motivations secret until the end, and let the readers conclude at the same time Ray did whether or not he was truly benevolent.**

 **Clarilune: Thanks so much for your criticisms. Criticism, often, is more uplifting to me than to see entirely positive reviews. I've never been entirely sure how well this story is going, which makes me ecstatic to learn how I can improve it further. A lot of your suggestions ended up making their way into the story, so thank you for being such a driving factor in that regard.**

 **Delta: You flatter me. Really, I don't know what to say. Thanks so much for being there and giving your thoughts, as it greatly uplifted me and augmented my motivation to write.**

 **Raptor Pilot: I love seeing your impressions, honestly. Knowing how an actual person would react to a situation like this is helpful in so many ways. Thanks for staying on for so long, and I hope this hiatus isn't as rough as the last.**

 **Enlil45: I regret having to do much of my exposition in forms of flashbacks, or through small hints at Ray's past. I don't know what I will do in the future to combat this, however, much of the expository aspects of the story are through. The big bad has been revealed. Of course, there is still much more to learn, leaving the possibility of a Prologue in the future. I believe we'll just have to wait and see.**

 **Appna: I'm glad someone doesn't see the abundance of mystery in the story as cluttered. I'm glad to be rid of most of it, as most were resolved in this chapter. Nevertheless, your philosophy of savoring the journey is great to read if I ever need to ground myself back in reality if I get too far off topic with this fic.**

 **Elven-in-name: Glad to see that you like the voice. I don't particularly like writing in the first person, because I'm not always able to emphasize Ray's take on the situation as his own when it's embedded into the narrative. I'm restricted to** _ **how**_ **Ray sees the world, which isn't always rational.**

 **LonelyQuilava: Your thoughts on the story and me as an author both are incredibly uplifting. I think I may be satisfying many of your hopes for the story as we move into the third Act, so be ready!**

 **Siphon 117: Yes, this scene… Mew is honestly one of my favorite characters to write, and for good reason. The first parts of this chapter were some of my favorites to write throughout the entire story, even if the ensuing situation afterwards didn't really live up to my expectations.**

 **Calvire: I hate to introduce a hiatus right as you say this. I hope to keep a consistent schedule up as soon as I start publishing the next Act, but thanks so much for your support!**

 **GreaterGrail: Oh yes, indeed. Been waiting for Ray to take control of the situation for a long time, and I'm glad to say he'll start getting more involved with the story in the coming Acts rather than be a simple spectator.**

 **ALI: Yup… I got it out kinda late here (yes, I'm American) because of some issues with editing, but I hope it satisfies. Timezones are weird.**

 **Thanks so much to all of you for your support. Hope to see you all in Act III!**

 **END ACT II**


	24. Remains

**Important information regarding update schedule in post. Thanks so much for 100 followers!**

* * *

 **Chapter XXIII - Remains**

* * *

"It's getting dark… We should probably stop for a while."

I looked around for a moment, sighing dejectedly.

"I knew we should've stayed by the cave. We're totally lost."

Misa caught up with me, looking down at my face with an air of indifference.

"Maybe, but you said it yourself. Baddies were just gonna flood the place. You didn't wanna keep up an Illusion for hours, did you?"

The question reminded me of my splitting headache. I groaned again, feeling my legs starting to wobble under me.

"Shrimp?"

"I'm good," I choked out, stopping to catch my breath and clench my teeth.

I could still feel the aftereffects of Mew's power being set loose within me. Again, I forced myself to discharge the remaining excess energy for what felt like the billionth time that day.

I shut my eyes and whimpered as the action sent jolts of pain throughout my entire body. I'd done it too much in such a short amount of time, but I couldn't spare letting any more energy remain stagnant. My body couldn't handle high volumes of built-up power, and had to regulate it as best I could.

What was it, really? Reshiram told me that the energy wasn't mine, but Mew's. Did this mean the artificial core she'd given me when we first met had grown out of control?

Yet, as promised by Reshiram, my own core had been repairing itself for a while, slowly diminishing the amount of Mew's energy to escape.

He'd explained that my own core, my own energy, acted as a film of sorts that kept Mew's energy dormant. When I overexerted in an attempt to break Reshiram's influence over me, I tore my core and allowed Mew's energy to escape and overflow within me.

I could feel my body being stretched to its limits. The power was simply too much for me to handle, and if it hadn't been for Reshiram, I apparently would've succumbed entirely to the sheer volume.

"Why hasn't Mew come for us by now? You don't think they lost, do you?"

Misa was silent, refusing at first to give a response.

"Let's just… Try and find someplace nice to sit down, huh? Looks like there's a lot of stuff we gotta talk about."

I nodded solemnly, choosing to absentmindedly follow Misa as she stepped off the natural trail we'd been walking on and pushed through some of the underbrush nearby. Despite the fact she cleared a preliminary path for me, I still grimaced as stray twigs scratched at my face and got caught in the more bushy areas of my fur.

"Whoa."

I shoved myself through the last bit of underbrush, inadvertently pushing Misa aside. She seemed preoccupied, however, with the sight before us. I stopped and gazed upon it curiously.

It was a structure, relatively old by the looks of it. Misa pushed her way ahead again, nonchalantly walking towards the obviously abandoned stone.

"Hold up for a sec," I said, "We don't know what's in there."

"Then let's find out!"

She was nearly inside by the time I willed myself to follow her. It looked to be a half-completed construction project, a two-story building made entirely out of concrete. Upon tentatively looking inside, I found the place to have been filled with trash and graffiti, with no reasonable way to access the second floor. It was deserted, at the very least.

I heard the faintest bits of thunder from the outside, squashing any desire to leave, even with how cluttered the place may have been. Misa had already made herself comfortable, sitting up against one of the concrete walls in a relatively clean area.

"Hopefully this place doesn't flood out," I said, mostly to myself. If we were to make camp, I wanted to ensure we were, at the very least, safe from the elements.

"Y'know how to start a fire?"

"Yeah, but all the wood is about to get wet."

I felt a pang from my head just then, prompting me to clench my eyes and bite my lip.

"Y'okay?"

"Head just hurting again… Gimme a sec."

I let out a long and agitated whine as it finally receded, leaving in its wake a horrid headache. It seemed to only get worse as time passed, and now, I didn't have my mind set on getting as far away from the cave as possible to detract from the pain.

"Guess who's never overexerting again," I mumbled, laying down next to Misa. I felt like I wanted to pass out, despite the draft.

"Hey, c'mon… Don't go to sleep yet. You promised to tell me what was going on. Nox?"

I ignored her, despite the fact I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep after what happened.

"I didn't know who any of those guys were, but everyone else seemed scared of them… Were they important?"

More silence on my part. Misa sighed.

"You were right, though… I didn't know what a 'Mew' was up until a little while ago, but I kinda told you about how I met her. The thing that killed Crag."

I still didn't bother answering. A replay of the Druddigon's death flashed in my mind for a moment, sending a tinge of guilt up my spine.

"Ray… Who is she?"

I tried putting the answer as lightly as possible, but in the end, my headache overcame any desire to explain things fully.

"She's a legendary Pokémon… A god, if you wanna put it in other terms."

"... What?"

"Forget it."

"No, no, tell me," Misa pushed, rousing me with a shake. "I mean, I've heard of legendaries and stuff before, but I've never met one."

"Well, that's all changed now, isn't it? Lucky you, you've met four in a single day."

"All those big guys too? Cool…"

"No, not cool, Misa!" I burst, turning around to send her a broken stare. "Legendaries suck! They're horrible!"

"..."

"Wanna know why I'm a Zorua? Let's have a proper introduction, shall we?"

Grunting I sat up and came to rest with as ridgid a posture as possible. I made sure to stare Misa down, hopefully instilling in her a notion that she needed to listen.

"Hi, my name is Grayson Alistair, and I'm a human Pokémon trainer. Nice to meet you. I'm not like your normal Pokémon trainer, though, cuz I wasn't allowed to have Pokémon until I was taken away from my parents. I was happy, going on adventures and doing normal kid stuff when suddenly, bang, the asshats chasing us, led by papa, kill one of my friends, one of my _teammates_ out of the blue. Shot dead, right in front of me."

Misa was looking at me with confusion, but I felt the need to vent even more strongly.

"That's when Mew found me. Followed me around for a bit and spoke to me in my head and made me think I was _fucking crazy_. I probably still am! So crazy, in fact, as to go back and decide to kill off my old man for revenge! Liking this story so far?!"

"..."

"Too bad! You wanted answers, and by all the gods I'm gonna give em! Now, looks like my dad's buddies are pissed off and trying to _kill_ me. Turns out, Mew's having problems with the same people, and wants to team up. Great, right? All leading up to about a month ago, now, when I was killed. Dead. Mew decides to blow up an entire _fucking_ volcano because of it, something I eventually get blamed for, and brings me back to life in the body of a Zorua because that's all that won't kill me in the process. Whoopee, here we are now! Make sense to you?!"

"No…"

"Me neither! I have _no fucking clue_ what's been going on or what will happen, and I…"

In the wake of my rant, I started to choke up.

"I'm a Zorua. I'm actually a Zorua. This was never a nightmare, or a fever dream. I'm _really_ a Zorua. I don't wanna be a Zorua. I never wanted to meet Mew, or get tangled up in all this! I just…"

Tears started falling as my voice got quieter and more uneven. I was no longer talking to Misa.

"I just wanted to go on an adventure… I wanted to have fun with my team, and battle Gyms, and meet a whole bunch of people and Pokémon, maybe even become one of the guys I saw on the trainer channel and looked up to. I wanted to see the world at my own pace, but now."

I couldn't hold it back. I was openly crying now, and had to bring a paw up to wipe my eye.

"Now I've seen too much of the world. I'm sick of it already. I wanna be done. I wanna be left alone. I want my team back… I miss them."

Misa was unsure of what to do. She hadn't seen me so open before, and the information she was trying to process proved to be much, much more than she'd expected.

"And now… Now, I'm never gonna see them ever again," I sobbed. "I know it. Mew was captured, Reshiram too, meaning my team was captured, Drayden was captured, all his dragons were captured. Seraph, Skipp… They're gone, or else we would've seen them by now!"

Misa gave me a moment to vent my sadness, simply closing her eyes and sighing. Despite her adamancy against caring, she couldn't help but feel the least bit sorry for me.

"C'mon, squirt," she said, wrapping an arm around the back of my neck and pulling me against her, jolting me back and forth as if she was about to being a pep talk. "Let's try and rest up, huh? We can figure out what to do tomorrow."

With her direction, I slowly laid my head down, hiccuping every so often.

"I might not know a ton about being in a different body, but I know what it's like to be in a new place, alone, without anybody I know. I dunno, but, really, it could be worse."

She took the initiative to cross her arms behind her head and let it lay on my back. She crossed her legs carelessly, letting her gaze wander towards the ceiling.

"It could be better, though," I pointed out, feeling rather uncomfortable as my snout hit the concrete floor below.

"I think you were right about Drayden, at least from what you said… He was tricking us."

"No, we were just too stupid to ask the right questions. Turns out, in the end, he was probably the one human I could actually trust in all this… I was stupid to not tell them anything."

* * *

"-was always the go-to guy for a pep talk, I guess… I don't think I ever saw him really afraid before. Up until the end. I guess I can say he was… Adamant? I'm gonna have a lot to remember him by, at the very least. Vulcan?"

The Haxorus looked up, having been hanging his head and hardly paying attention. Apparently, Skipp had finished his remarks. It was his turn.

He stepped forward as the Flygon retreated, messing with the flimsy pieces of his visor that hadn't been torn clean off. Skipp was glad it was nighttime. The unfiltered daylight hurt his sensitive left eye, considering Crag had torn away his visor.

"Crag… I really don't know what to say. Idiotic, hard-headed, and always the first one to jump into the most danger possible. All horrible flaws, but the traits I enjoyed the most about him. I could've learned a thing or two more from him, and I think we should all strive to achieve the level of bravery and confidence he exuded in everything he did. Godspeed."

After remaining silent for a few more minutes. Skipp and Seraph were the first ones to leave, heading back down towards the campsite. Vulcan chose to remain silent, allowing his sitting trainer to know that he was there to help him as he mourned.

"We lost two teammates in an hour's time," Drayden said sullenly, slowly spinning the Light Stone within his hand. It pulsated regularly, and had been since Reshiram had sacrificed himself to let Mew escape.

"Vicus will return," Vulcan ensured, but Drayden gave no response.

He couldn't understand his dragons anymore. All the energy that Reshiram had given him was gone. He could no longer hear their words as anything more than sophisticated grunts for the first time in decades.

"It might be years before he returns," Drayden said, having inferred the Haxorus' meaning through the unintelligible speech. "I don't have that kind of time."

Vulcan retracted his claw and took a step back. Drayden let out a weak chuckle.

"Crag would've found a way to put a positive spin on this. Even if he was rough around the edges, I'll give it to him. He was an optimist, even if he didn't look like one. There was always a way out, a way around the problem. No giving up, no giving in, no weakness."

Vulcan grunted an affirmative as Drayden took a glance back towards the camp that'd been set up. He was the only human in a group of nine Pokémon. Even with a telepath and an illusionist among them, he couldn't help but feel at an impasse, as if he could no longer even hope to speak to his dragons again.

Drayden closed his eyes and sighed hopelessly. Tentatively, he turned back towards the spacious area of shifted earth, his Druddigon buried underneath.

"Sleep well, Skemero," he said, reaching out to pat the ground with a quivering arm. "You did good."

Vulcan helped Drayden to his feet afterwards, and slowly guided him back towards the camp. He'd been feeling unusually weak ever since he let the Light Stone retake Reshiram's energy. Every Pokémon in the group, with the exception of Seraph, were sitting around the crudely made fire. They had no tents, no sleeping bags. All they could do was find as much tree cover as possible.

" _Ok, good. You two are here. Ready for the brief?_ "

Vulcan was quick to nod respectfully, while Drayden was much more reserved. He stared at Mew condescendingly.

" _Yeesh, alright… So, welcome to the Orange Archipelago. Before I met Ray, I spent most of my time here, on a few of the more uninhabited islands. This is where we're gonna set up base and try to figure out what to do from here. Cool?_ "

Vulcan chose to nod again, confirming for both himself and Drayden.

" _Right, so, your human laws say 'no humans allowed' on this island except for the people that enforce the rules, so Drayden, try not to do anything stupid._ "

No response. She was hoping for an eye roll, at the very least.

" _I sometimes mess around with the three humans that are on this island full time, and they know I come and go. I know a lot of the Pokémon here, too, so if you ever see one, just tell them that you're with me and we'll be chill. Oh, and another thing…_ "

She looked around for a moment before taking off without a word, flying through the air until she came to pick a pink fruit off of one of the gigantic trees in the area.

" _This is a Pinkan Berry,_ " she said, " _This is the only place on earth that they grow, so I wouldn't be surprised if you've never heard of it. Moral of the story, don't eat it unless you wanna look completely ridiculous for a while. Pink is my color, not yours._ "

Vulcan shot Mew a confused glance, but she didn't choose to go any further.

" _I never really sleep anywhere specific while I stay on this island… Not a ton of good caves, or anything like that, so I usually just… Wander. We'll figure out a good place eventually and try building a little hut, huh? We got no clue how long we're gonna have to hide here, sooo…_ "

"I don't understand why we're hiding in the first place," Drayden spoke up. "We need to take action here, not run with tails between our legs."

" _Easy for you to say. You're not the one that has to fight Tina and every other legendary and Prime that Alder's captured, are you?_ "

Drayden grunted frustratedly.

"Your nicknames aren't amusing."

Mew rolled her eyes.

" _Plus, no matter how much we_ _ **hate**_ _each other, I told Reshy I would take care of you guys, so here we are. I'm stuck with you, you're stuck with me. Simple as that, no getting past it._ "

"I've been questioning Vicus' faith since I first laid eyes on you. He's been deceived before, so I want you to give me one good reason why I shouldn't take my team and leave now."

" _You'd honestly rather live life on the lam, trying to avoid the UPF and the police, all while keeping the Light Stone safe? Sounds pretty stupid._ "

"Drayden," Vulcan tried saying before remembering that his partner could no longer understand him. Drayden's face softened for a moment.

"I want Vicus' power back," he said simply, looking adamantly back towards Mew. She deadpanned.

" _What?_ "

"Vicus' power. His energy. Back inside me."

" _Your eyes still work, right? Reshy doesn't exist anymore. He's basically just a rock right now. There's no power to give._ "

"You're still able to give me power."

Mew narrowed her eyes scrutinizingly.

"It would make for much more efficiency if I wasn't just dead weight. I need to be able to communicate with my dragons, move with strength. I'm an old man, as much as I hate to admite it, and Vicus let me do what I needed to do. If your goal is to keep us safe, then that would be the most logical step."

Drayden tried pushing as much hatred as possible out of his mind in order to inquire Mew politely without seeming desperate. Mew remained silent for just a few more seconds.

" _You serious? Like, not joking? Not on your life._ "

"..."

" _You're not my trainer. You don't get any special perks. I gave my power to Ray because I trust him… You, though, you're just a really, really weird old man that got too big for his britches because you had power. Physical power, social power, energetical power. Wait a minute, though! Uh oh, you don't have any power anymore! Deal with it. It's not like you're gonna be needing it for a while, anyways._ "

"Please reconsider," Drayden said hotly, visibly trying to keep his anger down. "It's in the best interest of this entire operation that I may be able to speak with my team, at the very least."

" _What operation? You mean, that thing you and Reshy captured me and held me prisoner for? Real good plan, let's all go and take down the UPF. Y'know, the guys that capture_ _ **primes**_ _and turn them into slaves._ "

She drew in closer, allowing the smallest hints of fire to manifest in her eyes as she stared into Drayden's own. The human's eyes had since lost their brazen gold color, as they had been with Reshiram's power. They were now a simple, dull brown.

" _These guys are on a whole 'nother level than any human if they're able to capture my kin. The primes are one of a kind, the gods over your sorry ass, gods of this whole world. There is no operation, and there's no plan, got me? I never agreed to any of this, so we're just gonna wait here until Reshy decides to come out of his rock and we can go our separate ways. Capiche?_ "

She heard angry grumbles from the elderly man, as if he was growling. She rolled her eyes, finally taking her attention off him for long enough to notice Axle had approached her.

" _What's up?_ " she asked, pushing between Drayden and Vulcan to speak to the Swampert directly. Axle seemed taken aback for a moment. He hadn't exactly maintained direct conversation with Mew before, and knew not how much formality he wanted to let seep into his voice. He tried to speak a word, but it just came out as a quiet croak.

" _Just about everyone gets first time jitters around me, I guess,_ " Mew remarked indifferently, having read his mind. " _Don't beat yourself up over it. Here, let's get away from these two weirdos._ "

Before Drayden could scold her for the particular word choice, Mew had floated forward, placed a paw on Axle's forehead, and popped out of existence. Drayden and Vulcan were left alone; the former proceeded to pick up the Pinkan Berry Mew had left behind and throw it as far as he could in frustration.

Axle looked around, frightened for a moment as he recovered from the shock of teleportation. The scenery wasn't all that different, and it looked as if they were both alone, something he didn't entirely appreciate. He allowed himself to calm down ever so slightly afterward, however. He gulped with anxiety.

" _What's up?_ "

He paused for a moment.

"I… I guess Victor and I haven't really, um… Talked to you, yet, before, so… Yeah… Sorry if I'm a bit awkward about… Y'know, all this, cuz…"

" _Sometimes I wish I wasn't a legendary. Introductions are already difficult enough without having to worry about people being scared of you._ "

"I'm not scared… It's just kinda… Surreal, you know? I'm talking to Mew…"

" _If it makes you feel any better, I've known you for a few years, even if you never knew me._ "

"That… Doesn't make me feel a lot better."

" _Huh, guess not. Anyways, we're teammates now, ain't we? Friends?_ "

"Uh, right… I remember Somin told us that Ray said you could be on the team…"

" _Mhmm! Here, lemme try something!_ "

Mew began glowing, her form no longer seeming solid. Axle watched with wide eyes as the mass of energy before him squirmed for a few moments before taking on a new shape. When the glow faded, a seemingly normal Starly was sitting on the large rock nearby, eyes curious.

" _That better?"_

"I don't know… A little bit, maybe?"

" _Mission accomplished, then. What was it you needed?_ "

Axle opened his mouth for a few moments, but promptly shut it as Mew's Starly tilted her head at him. She seemed to embody all the normal mannerisms, and then some. Axle decided, before the situation could become even more awkward, to get right to the point.

"Mew, we're all worried about Ray. Like, really worried. Have you been able to find him yet?"

Mew's bright blue eyes dimmed for a moment as she faltered.

" _You guys are worried?_ "

"Well, he's our friend. Our trainer. Of course we're worried, and just after we haven't been able to see him for so long? We have no idea what went down, when…"

Axle seemed to remember right then that he was talking with a god. Widening his eyes for a moment, he retreated, continuing in a more hushed manner.

"When we kinda need to know, right? I… I want to know if he's actually okay, because… Well, we've almost lost him so many times over the last month… He's been with us for so long, and having him gone is just-"

" _No, I gotcha… Truth is… I haven't been able to find him, and, well, I'm not exactly the most hopeful about it._ "

"Not hopeful?," Axle asked, eyes widening at her surprising honesty. "Like, you really don't know where he is?"

" _Could mean one of three things. First is that he's dead, which might very—"_

"D-dead?!"

Mew paused, shocked the otherwise petrified Swampert had suddenly interrupted her.

"No! No, he can't die! Ray is… Oh gods, why?!"

" _D-don't worry,_ " Mew said, struggling to grasp the sudden change in emotion. She really needed to put a filter on what she said.

The Swampert was inconsolable. Mew could feel his fear pushing past the surface as it came off him in waves. He simply stood, frozen, tears starting to form.

" _He's probably not dead, Axle,_ " she told him in as light a tone as she could manage. " _If nothing else, the energy I gave him is more than enough to get him out of a pinch if he needs it._ "

Axle blinked for a few moments before lowering his stare.

" _I'm just saying that, in the unlikely chance it happens, we need to be ready for it, alright? We're all in danger here, and we gotta keep our heads on a swivel, yeah?_ "

Axle nodded dejectedly. Mew sighed, deciding to continue

" _Second is that he's cloaked his energy signature, which he shouldn't be able to know how to do. The energy I put in him has been acting really, really weird, though. To the point I can't control it anymore. If it acts based solely on Ray's emotions until he learns to control it, I wouldn't be surprised."_

"Where would he go if he were to hide, though? Do you think he's still in the caves?"

" _You've heard of Misa the Axew, haven't you?_ "

"Somewhere… I don't know who she is, though."

" _She was an Axew that Drayden found the night we were all captured. I heard she had saved Ray from drowning in the river outside the cave, so they brought her back with all of us. While Ray was with all the dragons and away from you guys, she was with him. Apparently, though, her Pokéball was missing from Drayden's belt. He thinks Ray and Misa are together, which would make me think they made it out of the caves._ "

"Okay… The last option?"

" _Last is that he got captured, and the UPF is forcefully blocking his energy signature so I can't find him or them. If that's the case…_ "

She stopped, not willing to go any further. A gruesome image flashed in her mind for a moment.

" _I'm going back to look for him in a little bit. But, I need to try and make sure Alder's out of the area before I head back. I'm pretty sure Darky's out of the picture, at least for a while, but Tina… If Tina catches me back there, I won't know what to do._ "

"Reshy, Darky, Tina… Pet names? For… Legendaries?"

" _More or less. They're always doom and gloom for the most part, but my nicknames for 'em lets me remember that they're good guys underneath, y'know? But, we don't usually see each other, and besides… I hate having to deal with them if they start fighting when I try and have a reunion or whatever. Makes a pretty big mess._ "

"Uhh…"

" _Right, I'm getting off-topic, aren't I? Heh… Guess I'm just nervous about what's gonna happen, and Ray…_ "

"You're worried about him too?"

" _Of course!_ " she exclaimed, turning towards the Swampert defensively. " _I care about Ray, I really, really do, and I know it's hard to see that sometimes. Even if I'm the one that's been screwing his life over so much, I'm just…_ "

She stopped herself before she could finish, audibly sighing. She was quick to revert back to her natural form, already bored of being a Starly. She laid back on the same rock she'd perched on before, as if she tried finding a solution in the stars above. They were starting to fade in the early morning sky, a nasty reminder that it was getting dark in Unova.

" _Thanks for coming to talk to me,_ " Mew said simply. " _I don't get to just sit down and have a conversation very often…_ "

"... Sure…"

" _I'm gonna make sure everything's settled before I go back and look for Ray. When I bring us back to camp, can you grab Vita and wait for me? I need to talk to Somin and Jet._ "

Axle nodded as the legendary slowly rose and made her way back to him. With a sigh and a simple tap to the forehead, they were back in the camp.

Axle looked towards Mew for a moment before doing as asked and approaching Vita. She was curled around her egg near the fire, laying her head down before noticing the Swampert's approach.

With that, Mew took a moment to close her eyes. She hadn't seen Jet for quite a while, and was surprised to find his energy signature nearly a half-mile away. Confused, she teleported herself right to him.

He'd been perched on a tree branch when she popped back into existence. With her sudden appearance, he squawked in surprise, falling backwards and out of the tree entirely. He hit the ground about ten feet below with a thud.

" _Sorry,_ " Mew said, lacking any emotion whatsoever. " _What're you doing all the way out here?_ "

"Nothing," Jet seethed, slowly getting back up and shaking himself off. Mew, sensing his thoughts, continued the conversation on a different tangent.

" _They have food back at camp. There's not a ton of reasons for you to hunt._ "

"It's not for food. Just needed to get my mind off of stuff, is all."

" _Just wondering why you got so far away from camp_."

"The noise scares away the prey. I know my way back, don't worry."

" _Okay, well… I came to ask if you wanted to be one of the ones to come back to Unova with me, tonight._ "

* * *

"I'm in."

" _That fast? I haven't even told you what we're doing._ "

"I don't care," Somin said, unable to keep the worry off his face. "Ray has no idea what he's doing out there. He'll get eaten, or _something_ if we don't get there now."

Mew noticed how evident Somin's anxiety regarding the situation was. She'd seen him earlier, obviously uncomfortable with how the group was just remaining in one place, but she didn't exactly know the extent of the Zoroark's worry for Ray, specifically.

"Don't we need a plan, at the very least?" Jet asked, looking between Mew and Somin. The campfire burned in the background, drowning out their hushed conversation with the occasional pop.

" _Plan's simple. I can grab both of you at a moment's notice if I need to, so we're gonna spread out. Jet has the sky, trying to look for either Ray or Misa. Somin, you do the same thing on the ground. Yell, bang some sticks, I don't care. Just do anything you can to try and get Ray to notice you're there._ "

"Ok, Axle explained to me why you can't find Ray. Sure, I get it. But what about the Axew? Aren't you able to find her?"

" _I haven't been around her long enough to get a feel for her energy. I've been around you guys for years. I know you like the back of my hand, and can usually find you anywhere in the world. The Axew's another story. I've only ever actually seen her twice before, and both times I was focused on other stuff. I can't pick her out over the billions of other 'mon everywhere, is what I'm saying._ "

"Fine, fine. I'll yell. What'll you be doing?"

" _Checking the caves and seeing if he went back to the Gym. I doubt it, but it'd be worth a shot to check._ "

Mew raised her head for a moment to see Vita was approaching their group.

" _Ok, you two get ready however you want. Gimme a sec._ "

With that, she pushed between the two males, floating silently towards Vita. Both stopped a few feet short of each other.

" _How you holding up?_ "

Vita sighed dejectedly. "I only got to see him for a few minutes… He looked better fed, I suppose… Better than he was."

" _You can't blame yourself for that,_ " Mew said, shaking her head ever so slightly. " _Look, I just want you to know how so-_ "

"Please don't apologize."

" _Huh?_ "

"You love Ray, just like we do. You wouldn't do anything to hurt him, and I trust that, but I have to tell you. Mew, I _need_ you to bring him back, safe and sound. I know full well who you are, but you owe that to us. I don't care what it takes, bu-"

" _I got him. Don't worry._ "

Vita seemed to have more words on the tip of her tongue, but paused and silently nodded as Mew tried assuring her.

" _Right now, I wanted to ask you if you could look after things while we're gone. I don't know how long that's gonna be, but I don't trust Drayden at all. He has no reason to attack you or Victor or Axle, but if he does… I'll be back in a flash. You guys are really important to me, you know that?_ "

"Thank you."

" _Don't thank me just yet._ "

Mew tried desperately to put on as genuine a smirk as she could muster. Internally, she didn't know how she would possibly face the Serperior should she have failed in finding Ray. She knew the odds were low, but she wanted to emulate and magnify her meager hope in order to put Vita at ease.

" _You guys good to go?_ "

Mew turned back towards Somin and Jet, who had taken to simply watching Vita's seemingly one-sided interaction with Mew. Upon being asked, however, Jet was quick to perk up and nod.

Somin shifted to the side for a moment, eyeing Vita carefully. She sent him a soft smile, one he tried reciprocating.

Before he could say anything, however, the trio vanished, leaving Vita behind to close her eyes and hope.

* * *

Not to my surprise, sleep never came. To be honest, however, I was quite thankful that Misa decided to stay up with me.

Over the constant patter of the rain on the unfinished ceiling above our heads, we just talked… It may have been for an hour, or multiple, but we just got into a conversation and it really took off. There was no incentive, nor a reason for it. For once, I simply enjoyed the company, despite my previous attitude towards her.

Most of the conversation revolved around my being human, as expected. I told Misa about my team, including short little tales from different times in my journey.

Later on, we somehow got sidetracked to the topic of Drayden's dragons. Misa didn't exactly seem happy we'd finally escaped, as expected. She remarked that even though she hadn't maintained a full conversation with Crag, she felt sorry for what had happened to him. Truly, I wanted to forget what Mew had done and try to move on like it never happened. I made sure to keep my speech limited during this part of our talk, as the oppressive feeling of guilt slowly latched onto me once more.

"He did what he thought was right, I guess," I said, looking at some nondescript point on the other side of the room. "It's horrible what happened to him, but I don't want to try and dwell on it."

Misa shot me an odd glance.

"Don't get me wrong, I feel horrible for Drayden and his team, but there'll be a time and a place to figure that out later, won't there? I think, right now, we need to focus on trying to survive."

"Look, I didn't want to ask you this earlier, but what are we supposed to do? If you're right, and your whole team got captured with Drayden and everyone else, then what do we do? Just keep waiting for them, or…?"

This was a question I was dreading to answer. I couldn't fathom a life without my team, without any previous connections. If we were truly isolated, then that meant I would have to start my life entirely from scratch… As a Zorua. Permanently.

 _No._

"Well, I'm not gonna stop no matter what happens. I'm not going to be a Zorua forever. I don't care what it takes. If I can find any way, with or without Mew, to become human again, I'm gonna go to the ends of the earth to chase it."

"Well…"

"What?"

"Look, I don't want to sound like I'm suggestin' anything, but is being a Zorua really that bad?"

"..."

"Hear me out," she blurted out, taken aback by my sudden look of aggression. "You've told me how much you like battling, and using Illusions, and having energy, and whatever. What's important, though, is what you'd do after becoming human again, right? You told me you're wanted by everyone and their mother for killing a lot of people you didn't actually kill. If you went back to being a human, you would just have to hide for the rest of your life."

"At this rate, I have to hide for the rest of my life no matter what I do."

"Fair point, fair point, but think about it. All these perks of being a Zorua, while also getting to blend in a bit, versus being human again and getting chased even more by everybody."

"The benefits of being human are so, so much bigger than being a Zorua."

"Like what?"

I turned my head back around. Misa had her head tilted to the side, sending me a sincere, indifferent glance. For the shortest of moments, I froze. There was no answer that immediately came to mind.

However, in that moment of vulnerability and before I could recover and give a response, Misa's eyes widened.

Confused, I turned around to see what had drawn her attention.

Standing in the doorway, complaining to himself as he took off his backpack and shook it out of the water it'd accumulated, was a human boy.

" _Misa,_ " I said through Illusionary connection despite the headache. " _Is that hole in the wall too high to climb out?_ "

I made an effort to back up further into the dark corner we occupied, hoping to cover up Misa as much as possible with my gray fur. At my request, she looked up on the wall, peering at a large hole in the concrete about five feet up.

She clicked her tongue for a moment, as if thinking. My attention, however, was on the human as he sighed and took a few steps towards us. He still hadn't noticed our presence.

He could have been no older than eleven, wearing a dark green rain coat and holding by a single strap a simple bookbag. It didn't exactly seem suitable for hiking, leading me to question why he was using it. Despite his hood being pulled up, I was able to see his messy, black hair, soaked and plastered to his forehead.

Most dreadful was what he was wearing around his waist. A belt of Pokéballs, all glistening with an unworn shine.

" _He's a trainer… But, his belt… All of his stuff is new._ "

Looking away from the Pokéballs on his belt, I noticed how his backpack bulged with what I assumed to be wadded clothes and misplaced supplies. I figured quite quickly he must not have had experience travelling.

I watched as he stepped into the opposite corner of the room and sat down, sighing and crossing his arms to warm himself up.

"What do we do?" Misa whispered, ducking behind me and hoping to keep as much green out of the human's view as possible. It was only a matter of time, however, before he noticed the vibrant red of the fur on my head and paws.

" _He didn't even check out the rest of this place… Okay, I don't think this guy has much of an idea of he's doing, which is good._ "

I thought for a second or two.

" _We're not gonna just be able to sneak out. And, that hole is a bit too high to get out unnoticed. We gotta act now before he releases his Pokémon, cuz it's gonna be infinitely harder to get away after that happens._ "

Misa gulped behind me. I reminded myself that she no longer had the protection of Drayden's Draco Ball. She was capturable, as was I. However, if Mew's power were to surge up again, as it had when Drayden tried capturing me in the Dread Ball, would the human be capable of catching me?

Could I tap into that power to create enough of an Illusion to escape? No, no… Reshiram had said I could only use it when my own core was torn. Even then, attempting to use the power in the way I'd had while in the cave would more than likely kill me in the process. My body simply couldn't take that kind of strain.

If it hadn't been for Reshiram's forcefully suppressing it, the sheer amount of energy would have killed me. I needed to be careful not to overexert again. And, above all, I couldn't even think about trying to use Mew's power.

I tried reaching down, deep into my core. I was quick to realize I felt nothing other than the nearly unnoticeable buzz of my own energy. Mew's was nowhere to be found. A good sign, though not exactly useful in this scenario.

My head panged again. I was terrified of once again overexerting if I were to try and use advanced Illusions at all in this state.

" _No use, we gotta rush the kid. Misa, you okay with charging him?_ "

"And attack?" she whispered again, nearly inaudible.

" _No, just throw him off so we can run. I don't know what'll happen, so try and stay close to me. If we get separated, make sure you lose the trainer then walk in the direction of the moon for about 15 minutes. Start yelling for me, and I'll be nearby. Got it?_ "

"Walk towards the moon… Got it."

" _Ok then… Go!_ "

Misa pushed me aside as she burst forward, yelling and instantly attracting the surprised attention of the young human. The closest thing to a roar she could muster, the screech she created was enough to prompt him to stand and jump back.

"Whoa! Whoa!" he yelled, stepping back warily as Misa stopped a few feet short of him. Raising a single arm, she yelled random words in rapid succession that the human couldn't understand.

Finding the opportunity, I broke out into a sprint, passing behind Misa in my bounds towards the door. I sent the duo a look right then, resulting in eye contact between myself and the human.

His eyes lit up when he saw me. My stomach dropped.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed, visibly excited and now seemingly ignoring Misa entirely. "Zorua!"

 _Ah shit._

I simply doubled my efforts to get to the exit. I screamed behind me for Misa to leave and follow.

"No, wait!"

 _Misa knows where to go if we get separated. I just need to get out of here._

"Don't let it get away, Blitzle! We'll take care of the Axew!"

I grit my teeth for a moment after hearing the name. I rounded a corner and disappeared into another room right as I hear the mechanical whoosh of a Pokéball opening.

Dirt and grit embedded themselves in my paw pads, making the run through the abandoned concrete structure quite painful. I found myself, at one point, stuck in a dead end of a room, prompting me to just about sit down entirely in an attempt to slow myself down and turn around.

As I was sprinting back out of the room and made a sharp right turn, I caught a short glimpse of a black, quadrupedal creature as it thundered down the hall towards me. With white stripes like lightning and the apparent sounds of hooves clattering against the concrete, I knew it to be the Blitzle the trainer had called forth.

It was larger than me. That much I knew instantly. Taller than Misa, even, considering her lack of size for a regular Axew. Normally, I would have no fear at seeing a basic stage Pokémon chasing me.

But now I didn't have my team. This was the harsh reality I would have to come to terms with.

"Hey, wait! Come back, let's just talk!"

The female voice was high and shrill, holding a tone of desperation. I ignored her completely, putting everything I had into my next few bounds. There was an empty space at the end of the hall, no doubt one where a window would have been. I simply lowered my head and leaped as it drew near.

I thought I had cleared it at first; I'd even invested energy into the leap as to ensure I had room to spare. Yet, my outstretched legs below me ended up catching on the bottom of the pane. I was sent from there into a violent tumble outside. Rain pelted my fur for only a moment before I landed back-first in the muddy grass outside. Wasting no time, I allowed my forward momentum to result in a roll before finding my footing and taking off once more.

I hardly noticed the fur falling in front of my eyes as I was thoroughly soaked by the rain. A hard thump in the mud behind made clear to me that the Blitzle was still following.

I dove through a gap between two bushes, taking a hard right turn promptly afterwards. Amongst the shrubbery to follow, I followed a jagged course, sometimes taking the more difficult route of ducking under foliage high enough to permit my entry.

Obviously, the sort of erratic path I followed was much more suited to a creature of my physique than that of the Blitzle. I was very sure she was quite faster than I myself, but for once, my lack of size game me the advantage.

"Wait!" I could hear her call from a distance, presumably completely blocked and without a conceivable way to follow me.

I ran for about thirty seconds more, breaking into a clearing. I willed myself to the opposite edge before coming to a complete halt and crouching under some of the bushes there. I panted heavily, keeping eyes closely trained in the direction I'd come. My muscles burned. I stopped myself from investing energy into my strides due to the lack of it I felt in the first place, meaning I'd quickly exhausted myself.

Pain was quick to arise in my paws from the debris I'd sprinted over haphazardly. On top of that, my right, front leg was starting to become rather sore from my tumble out the window. Thankfully, I hadn't seemed to disturb my prior injury on my hind right leg.

 _Gods, it's freezing._

The wind was blowing and any sort of cover I may have had was nullified by the dampness of my fur. I shivered, bunching myself together.

 _I'm not gonna survive out here, am I?_

I didn't care anymore if the Blitzle was looking for me. I needed to find _real_ shelter. I wasn't willing to test my body's limits, and I could already feel my meager energy draining out of me at a rapid rate.

Unwilling to bolster my movements with power from my core in order to preserve as much as I could, I grunted and struggled to stand. I couldn't let myself stay there. I couldn't rest.

Remembering what I'd told Misa, I looked hopefully towards the sky. Perhaps, if I were to head towards our rendezvous point, I'd be able to find shelter and wait for the Axew there.

I hadn't thought far enough ahead to remember the storm. All I could see was a blanket of black clouds.

"No," I whispered to myself, widening my eyes and turning around. I looked for a _glimpse_ , even, of moonlight peeking through the darkness. There was nothing.

"No…"

Which way was which? I had the wherewithal to stumble up to and lean against a nearby tree, orienting myself by noticing the moss growing to my right. The moon had risen perhaps an hour or two ago, and considering it was mid October…

I simply turned a half circle and started walking, praying the sky would soon clear up enough to show Misa the same way. She wouldn't know any tricks when it came to navigation, tricks I myself had experience using while travelling.

I had simply given her a general direction, one that I hoped would be sufficient, and placed her close enough to hear me yelling. If I made it there alive, of course. Fifteen minutes of walking sounded like an eternity.

I'd been trudging along for about five minutes before I started yelling with as much strength as I could muster.

"Misa! Misa, are you here?!"

I couldn't walk anymore. My legs were starting to give out. I infused my muscles with a bit of energy to keep myself going.

"Misa, please!"

No response. Thunder rumbled in the distance.

I felt too tired now to even feel my own fear. I'd long since started limping. My paw hurt like nothing else.

Biting my lip apprehensively, I stopped and looked around.

That hollow log seemed rather inviting…

I couldn't, though. There was no way Misa would ever find me if I were to take shelter there. I needed to go the rest of the way.

Then again, I would be able to stay awake and watch out for her. She was going to pass by where I was standing, wasn't she?

There was no way I could guarantee that… To be honest, it was highly improbable she would come from the same direction.

But I didn't care. I let the lacking answer relieve enough worry in order for me to allow myself to rest. I just wanted rest…

 _You need to keep going._

 _No I don't._

 _We will_ _ **die**_ _if you get in that log and lay down. You're hungry, you're wet, you're tired. We need to find something to warm you up._

 _It's not like we have any other options… Wait, we?_

I perked up for a moment, feeling compelled to look around. Those thoughts felt unnatural. Was I really that delirious?

"Hey! There!"

I froze once again, turning to my left. Sure enough, and to my great disdain, the human was less than ten feet away.

"Just… Hold it, you got nothing to be scared of."

He spoke in a tone of voice that garnered anything but trust in my mind.

I took a step to run again. I could only hope I was able to outpace the human, even with what little strength I had left. As I turned away, however, I could see his hand fly down to his belt in a hasty attempt at releasing a Pokémon.

I hadn't made it far enough away before I could feel the aftershock from a rather weak jolt of electricity to impact the floor in front of me. I stopped dead.

"I asked you to just wait up! You're gonna get zapped if you try running away again!"

I was breathing heavily. I knew the attack was rather weak by the standards I usually faced as a trainer, but I still didn't want to be on the receiving end of a shock. Especially with how wet and weak I felt already.

"Nice job, Blitzle! Use Shock Wave again!"

Alarms rang loudly in my head. However, instead of listen to the command, the Blitzle simply turned to her trainer with an indecisive glance.

"Well, what're you waiting for?"

She sighed.

"Sorry kid, I'll try and make this quick. Then we can get you dried off and warmed up, huh?"

I took that as a prompt to get out of there. I took off to my left, going as fast as my weary legs could take me.

I felt a buildup in static in the air around me. Trusting my gut, I dove left, impacting the ground right as the Shock Wave hit where I'd been running. The trees were still distant, but I could make it.

Those hopes were soon dashed, however, as the Blitzle simply fired off another one in rapid succession. My muscles seized violently and contracted on their own from where I lay on the ground.

My breathing grew shaky and terrified as I made an effort to scramble away. The electricity in my system wouldn't leave. I couldn't move.

"Paralyzed, great! We got it!"

I grunted, trying to form a word.

"P-please."

I watched with a wide gaze, helpless as the human closed in, detaching a single Pokéball from off his belt.

 _Oh god, no! This isn't what I wanted!_

One of my muscles twitched, attracting my attention. I focused intensely on it struggling to move my whole leg before the human arrived.

"MISA!"

I could do nothing, in the end. The trainer simply knelt down and pressed the Pokéball against my shoulder. I instantly felt a feeling of vertigo, not unlike teleportation, before my vision went entirely black.

I was back in that dark place I'd seen once before… I no longer was in my own body; my body didn't even exist anymore. I felt energy swirling about me in a spherical shape, considerably weak as compared to the last time I'd felt it. Rather than a smooth, purple mass surrounding me, strong and alive, I could only feel the presence of the occasional strand of stray energy. It was energized, certainly, but in another way.

This was my core. In this most basic form, where my body no longer existed, I was purely energy. Energy, with my core sitting dead center.

It wasn't anything impressive. Considerably dark as compared to the rest of the energy around it, and occasionally releasing a strand or two of unadulterated energy to swim amongst the masses. However, I could feel its progress in creating new energy was being hindered.

Sparks of electricity spontaneously cut their way across it, keeping it from creating energy at a quick rate while squashing resistance to a familiar force. Much like the last time I'd been in a Pokéball, I felt something pushing in on me.

It was a simple pressure, threatening to break past the outer layer of my energy and force its way into my core.

I remembered distinctly, however, what had happened soon thereafter the last time this had happened. A speck, small, bright, and powerful had invaded my being without effort and blasted away the pressure with ease. Would that happen again?

Yes! I saw the pinpoint of light, existent as if it had always been there. It had to hurry! I tried pushing against the pressurizing force myself, but felt it was too strong to overcome on my own. I needed the power the light brought.

And oh, did it provide. Never had I thought I would be so happy to be dumped back out into the rain, relishing the ground beneath me as I prepared for the impending discharge to come, like it had before in Drayden's living room.

Yet, for whatever reason, it didn't. The excess energy in the speck of light had only helped me escape. Why were there no side effects, like before?

"What the?!" the boy exclaimed as I found myself once again unable to move. "Blitzle, you saw that too, right?"

There wasn't a response. I could hear the human grumbling.

"These things are expensive! Why didn't the last one catch?"

I hardly even felt the next ball as it impacted my skin. The human hadn't even gone through the effort to press it up against me. He simply dropped it on me, angry about having to use more than one.

I didn't see the light when I found myself in the void, again. But, I could feel its energy giving me the strength to push out once more. Why was it I could only feel it inside the ball?

The human audibly swore as I broke out of the second ball, leaving it unfixable as well.

"COME ON!" the trainer yelled with a cracking voice, quick to get extremely angry at the situation. "Just work, for once!"

 _Give it up._

I grinned spitefully, forgetting for a moment that I was, in fact, at a disadvantage. For a few seconds, I felt invincible. He couldn't touch me.

He tried once more, ending in the same result. He groaned with enough volume to be considered a yell.

I could hear his backpack impact the wet ground behind me as he began to tear through it, undoubtedly looking for more balls. However, he was quick to realize those on his belt were the last he had. The boy remained quiet for a moment, before slowly standing up.

I was brought right back to the reality that I wasn't, in fact, invincible, when the boy stomped in anger, boot landing a mere foot away from my face and splashing mud to cover my snout entirely.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" the boy screamed, now crying. A few seconds passed before I could hear the sounds of hoofbeats as they approached me.

"Arceus, are you okay? He didn't step on you, did he?"

I coughed for a few seconds. I could feel the Blitzle's snout as it brushed over my side. I still found myself unable to move.

"What am I doing, you're just a kid!" she scolded herself as she withdrew, proceeding to pace around for a few moments.

"Blitzle, return. I'm done with you."

"Wait, don-"

I could see the flash of red from out the corner of my eye. I was left alone to deal with a threat ten times my size, paralyzed and injured.

"I guess I still got the Axew. But damn! I wanted a Zoroark so badly!"

I choked for a moment. Had Misa gotten captured?! No! I didn't have a chance on my own, especially in my current state.

I had to get Misa back. I assured myself it was solely for the fact that the Axew was my only chance of surviving in the wild. Nothing else.

But what was I to do? Would the human leave me in the rain?

Acting before he could leave, I made sure to let out the loudest, most pitiful whine I could muster. It pained me to know I would have to act my apparent age once again, but this would be a much more simple feat than fooling Drayden's dragons.

It was simply a matter of sneaking away with Misa's ball while he slept.

I could hear him stop in his tracks, prompting me to close my eyes and sigh slightly in relief. He'd heard me. I tried again, pushing myself to stand but finding I couldn't. I whined again.

 _Come on… Just take the bait._

I could hear him sigh, conflicted, before starting to walk back towards me. I was unsure of whether or not to feel ecstatic or tense up in fear.

His hands, seemingly uncaring of any injury I may have sustained, wrapped around my torso and hoisted me up.

 _Here we go._

* * *

Mew flew through the darkness, rounding the mountain from high above with surprising speed. She wouldn't let anything keep her away from Ray.

She'd made it to the side of the mountain that Drayden's Gym lied on. The lights from dozens of police cars, news reporters, and all the people present was hardly assuring. She cloaked herself as she traveled on, considering her pink fur would have otherwise completely stood out from the black backdrop.

"Ray Ray Ray Ray," she whispered to herself as she approached, moving her eyes about the crowd before moving towards where it seemed the officials were working. Most of the police there simply seemed to be mulling about the grounds, as if absentmindedly looking for something to do.

She teleported inside the complex itself before taking a look around. The building was relatively dark and deserted, if one didn't count the occasional officer patrolling the halls. She made sure to avoid them entirely, often opting to float along the roof in order to avoid even potential detection.

There was nothing to find. Ray was nowhere, evidently. Mew had gone as far as to peruse the minds of a few grunts in order to gain some information about the scene. Nothing useful could be found at the forefront, pressuring her to move on. A deeper scan of the mind would be noticeable to the subject.

Though, as she made her way back outside and made to leave entirely, a single energy signature stopped her in her tracks. Eyes quickly narrowing into a death glare, she stared straight down.

Alder's red hairstyle was unmistakable. The crowd grew loud as he approached the scene from further up the road, visibly livid.

"Where is she?" he asked the closest officer he could find with a frown. Whatever business he'd been attending to in private couldn't have been pleasant.

The officer addressed simply pointed at one of the nearby squad cars. Mew, rather than take the safe option in leaving, opted to remain behind to see if Alder had any information on Ray.

People called his name from behind police tape as he walked by. Rather than address them with his normal, amicable personality, he was silent. Ponderous, even.

He opened the backseat door of the car in question and leaned inside.

"We need to talk."

"What did you _do_ , Alder?!"

The scream was enough to silence the crowd. Making an effort to laugh it off, Alder grabbed inside the car and gently pulled its contents outside.

Skyla's hair was tousled about and her facial expression vile. With a scowl, she tried wrenching her arm away from his grasp. Mew's eyes widened slightly in recognition.

"Quiet now, quiet now… We don't want to make a scene, do we?"

"What do you want?"

"That should be obvious, shouldn't it? Why are you in handcuffs right now?"

"Because all of you think Ray was here. He _wasn't_. It's a lie!"

"You're the only one lying to me, Skyla. But, you know this is more important than Ray, isn't it?"

He wrapped an arm around the young Gym Leader, slowly guiding her inside. She struggled against him at first, but stopped as it became obvious they needed to keep their conversation away from the public eye. Mew followed them inside, where they began speaking in the now-deserted lobby.

"I don't believe Ray should be blamed for the Chimney Bombing."

Skyla's eyes lit up for a moment as she looked towards the champion hopefully. Mew was skeptical, obviously. Alder was telling the truth, but why the sudden change of heart? Especially after what had just transpired between them.

"But, you and I both know Ray needs to be held accountable for the murder of Gregory Alistair. The League stopped the government from taking action because of Gregory's connection to the UPF. Hell, we've given everything to this kid. A new name, a new identity when his parents were on house arrest. But, I'm the Champion now, and I'm not letting it slide anymore."

Skyla let her face dim, quickly preparing a reply.

"Where is he, Skyla? The boy thinks he's invincible."

"I don't know."

Alder rolled his eyes.

"Okay, then let me get right to the point. I know you're well aware who the _real_ culprit behind the Chimney Bomb was."

"..."

"Mew is a leech that's attached onto your nephew. She's just using his status as a trainer to hide. You know that, right? She's _using_ him, wherever they may be."

Mew seemed neutral, despite the subtle truth in the words… She knew there was room for her to improve as far as her relationship with Ray went. To say she was parasitic was probably a stretch, but Alder's statement wasn't entirely made without reason.

"They're gone. Mew left with Drayden. Alder, please. Just let me go. I haven't seen Ray, else I would've told you by now."

Skyla was lying through her teeth. Mew smirked for a moment. She was a more convincing liar than she appeared.

"Brycen. Where's he?"

"I haven't seen him since _you_ sent him away," Skyla said, obviously annoyed at Alder's readiness to change the topic. "You're acting like I knew everything around here! Your guess is as good as mine."

Mew wouldn't be surprised if Brycen had seen media coverage of what was happening currently from wherever he was at the time and chosen to disappear entirely. There was no doubt he'd be grouped with Drayden and Skyla.

"I want my team," Skyla said, straight out of the blue. "I haven't seen them for weeks, all because of a stupid _suspicion_ that I had something to do with this. You said it yourself, Ray isn't the Chimney Bomber!"

Alder was silent. Rather than answer, he took a few steps away from Skyla. Mew had learned enough. Alder didn't know where Ray was, meaning that he was out in the world… Somewhere. All she could hope for was Somin or Jet finding him.

Satisfied, she prepared herself to leave. However, Skyla's choked-up sobs soon grabbed her attention.

"Alder?"

"It is with a heavy heart that I declare you, Drayden, and Brycen unfit for the duties and responsibilities of keeping the peace and representing the League as Gym Leaders. You're all officially removed from your positions until a proper trial can be held by high council."

"W-what?"

"Sorry, Skyla. Maybe if things were a bit different, but not here. The League has to act in order to cut away any corruption."

Mew closed her eyes and pinched her forehead for a minute, letting herself come back down to Earth.

All that had occupied her mind previously was Ray. She wasn't planning ahead whatsoever, blinded by ambition to find her trainer.

Honestly, the human wasn't without his flaws, certainly. But she knew that to be the relationship between trainer and Pokémon. To support each other's flaws and make themselves a perfect team, rather than perfect individuals.

She needed to ask herself more often what her human would do in the situations she found herself in. She felt regret at having acted so selfish to her own interests without even considering Ray's point of view. She wasn't above learning, even at her indefinite age.

She'd previously determined not to kill Alder. The Champion was as crooked as they came, and for what she'd been told had been done to her brethren. It was despicable. However, she knew not to underestimate the man. The last time she underestimated a human hadn't ended well.

 _What would Ray do?_

The answer was obvious. They may have been amicable towards one another, but the first step Mew had to take in order to fully gain her human's confidence was to learn from her mistakes and do as he would.

Alder turned around right as she let herself become visible, apparently without fear of Alder's presence. His arm shot down to his belt, but he froze afterwards.

Mew was floating above an unsuspecting Skyla, staring at him with a smug grin.

She couldn't restrain herself from taunting the man with a quick wink before grabbing Skyla's head and disappearing out of existence.

* * *

 **It feels good to be back.**

 **A lot of this chapter, I felt, was an attempt at making up for the trainwreck that was the finale to Act II. A lot went unexplained, even if Reshiram himself explained what was going on. My vision on what energy is in the Pokémon world is sometimes hard to convey rationally. It's honestly become so complex that I can't really hope to explain it all, but I'm sure as hell going to try.**

 **I know it's not June 1st, as I'd promised, but I wanted to establish the fact that updates will be coming on Saturdays from here on out. On top of that, I have an important announcement…**

 **As of right now, updates will be coming once every three weeks.**

 **I have significantly less written for this Act than I did the other two when I began publishing them. I feel much more comfortable pushing out updates every third Saturday rather than every other Saturday. If I get far enough ahead, this will be subject to change.**

 **In other news, we did it! We hit 100 followers! I'd like to thank every single one of you for your help in making this a dream come true for me. Here's to a great future as we reach about the halfway point in the story!**

 **Despite what all you guys have done to contribute to this fic, however, I still have to ask if you'll spare the time to drop a review. I really need criticism, because there's always this sense of unease I feel with nearly every chapter I post, and I can never pinpoint the exact problem. Thank you guys in advance for the support.**

 **Until next time!**


	25. Fire

**l**

 **Chapter XXIV - Fire**

* * *

I couldn't feel my legs.

Part of me was glad. The pads of my paws were undoubtedly torn up. I sneezed again, to top it all off, almost putting out the measly fire before me out entirely.

"Hey, hey! Sneeze away from the fire! It took me thirty minutes to get it going!"

I glared at the human boy sitting across me with everything I could muster. He sent a pouty look of similar caliber right back at me.

He wasn't exaggerating. It'd taken everything I had in me not to muster the strength to stand and finish building the fire _for_ him. He was doing everything wrong, and had only found out how to catch a spark by blind luck.

There'd been extra fuel for the flames in the form of scattered lumber, dry and left behind in the building. Everything had been laid out for him perfectly, but despite being a trainer and having supposedly traveled for a while, he was less than proficient, to say the least.

My patience certainly wasn't helped by the fact I was freezing, soaking, and my head still hurt. Lucky to be alive, on top of it all. Putting aside my own dignity long enough to appeal to a small sense of compassion in the novice trainer had ended up saving my life.

Now, he was just sitting across the fire, trying to get warm. He'd since changed into some dry clothes, making me wish I could do the same. For whatever reason, he hadn't released his remaining Pokémon, whatever they may have been. I wanted to see Misa so I could verify that the human hadn't been lying about capturing her.

As if he'd read my mind, he sighed, finally standing up and walking over towards his bag.

From it he procured a _gigantic_ bag of Pokéfood, easily enough to take up the space of a single backpack pocket on its own. I would have probably burst out into laughter if I wasn't feeling like a ton of bricks was being laid on me.

But, now was the moment of truth. He reached down to his belt and detached four balls, all in pristine condition. Apathetically, he released all of their contents simultaneously.

Misa, not seeming in the least bit uncoordinated after being released, turned towards the human boy and began in a tirade.

"I saw that! What the hell do you think you're doing, attacking my slave?! And capturing me?! Who do you think you are, huh? Some kinda big shot? "Oh, look at me I got Pokéballs so I can do whatever I want." You ain't nothing, you know that?! Nothing!"

" _Misa…_ "

"Nox! Look, I tried getting away, but the human had more Pokémon and they teamed up on me and I couldn't! He put me in a ball and I was really confused and I didn't know what to do and I couldn't get away and I couldn't help you and-"

" _Misa, it's alright… Just chill for a second, and act like you can't hear me talking to you._ "

She took a few seconds to absorb the command, eventually slipping into an act. She took a few, heavy steps forwards before plopping down next to me and crossing her arms, pouting. She mustered up a nasty glare and met the human's nervous expression.

It hurt my head to use Illusions, but I resolved to pull through for just a bit longer. This was necessary.

I got my first look at the rest of the human's team shortly thereafter. It was comprised only of three Pokémon, all of which were staring at Misa with varying expressions.

Two of the Pokémon watched Misa as she sat down with shocked silence. Among them was the Blitzle that I'd come to be decently familiar with. Female, if her voice was any indication, and eventually settling to shift her gaze back and forth between her trainer and me.

A Tepig to her right shared a similar reaction to Misa's outbursts initially, but was quick to get over it and approach tentatively, inciting a harsh glare from Misa. It was quick to back off, head hanging but eyes hopeful.

 _Are you kidding me? He spent that long trying to build the fire himself when he has a_ _ **fire-type starter**_ _?!_

The last Pokémon was obviously a sharp contrast compared to the other two. It was a Mienfoo, and one obviously ticked off if its eyes were any indication. After taking preliminary glances at both Misa and I, it turned towards its trainer and began speaking.

"Really? Just, really? I knew you were low, but a hatchling? The Axew, sure, fine, maybe, but you're actually that much of a coward to go after a kit that couldn't even defend itself?!"

The voice was distinctly female, though lower than I'd expect for a basic-stage evolution. I presumed her as older than any of the other Pokémon present based on that observation alone.

" _Novice trainer with at least one unloyal Pokémon,_ " I remarked to Misa, " _We can use this._ "

"Jeez, why're you mad now? We got new teammates! Our team's growing!" the trainer pointed out, at the very least able to pinpoint the Mienfoo's irk. "Quit being such a downer on everything."

The Mienfoo seemed ready to retaliate again, but I inadvertently caught her eye as she took a glance back at me. Her gaze didn't soften in the slightest.

"Do whatever you want," she relented, turning and walking towards the human's side. "Welcome to the team, have fun, yada yada yada. Try not to get killed with this idiot giving you commands."

Before the human could move away, she apathetically pressed a paw against one of the balls the human had since put back on his belt. She was gone a few seconds later, reabsorbed into her ball.

"You aren't hungry?" the boy asked retroactively, given no answer as his Mienfoo disappeared. "Fine, more for everyone else then."

I traded glances with the remaining pair of the boy's Pokémon. The Mienfoo was obviously antagonistic towards the trainer. Did that mean she wouldn't fight for him if it came to that?

" _Misa, how do you feel matched up versus these two? You do have the type advantage versus both of them. Sigh if yes and do nothing if no._ "

She made no outward response to my words, as if she was waiting for the Blitzle and Tepig opposite us to speak first.

The human, as it turned out, was the first to break the silence.

"Well, uh… Welcome to the team, Axew and Zorua. We're all really glad you guys are here."

He didn't sound as enthusiastic as his words let on. I could feel an even greater sense of annoyance at being called 'Zorua'. I had to stop myself from reaching out with Illusions in order to correct him.

The Tepig seemed quick to send an amicable nod in our direction, welcoming us. The Blitzle was a bit more reserved, and couldn't help but avert her eyes whenever I looked at her.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Misa burst out, standing up. "Let's get something straight. Ain't nobody gonna be _my_ trainer except me, got it? You can't keep us here."

"Aw, come on," the Tepig spoke up for the first time, stepping forward with a pleading stare. "You guys don't wanna stay? You just got here!"

This was a male, voice sounding nasally and tight, as I'd expect for this kind of Pokémon.

"I don't care if we just got here," Misa jabbed. "We were just minding our own business before you all came and barged in."

"Weren't you lost? Why were you staying in a place like this?"

"Because it has a roof and it's raining outside? Where we're going is none of your business."

"Okay, okay," the Blitzle finally spoke up. "Let's just… Start with introductions, huh? Make this a bit easier for everyone? We should all try to at least get to know each other a little bit."

No response was given, prompting the Blitzle to continue.

"I'm Blitzle, and I, uh… Nice to meet you guys. I know how hard it is when you first get captured, but it's actually not that bad, you know? Once you get used to everything…"

 _She's flustered… Maybe regretting having attacked me earlier? It would make sense, she's not making any eye contact at all._

"And I'm Tepig! I'm Jake's first Pokémon, and we've been together for, like…"

The Tepig seemed whimsically pensive for a few moments. I deduced 'Jake' as the human, considering the name hadn't been tossed around before.

"I dunno… A few months now, maybe? He's a really nice guy when you get to know him!"

"Ok, cool. I don't care," Misa put forth bluntly. "We sat through your stupid intros, can we go now?"

"Why?"

"Why? I don't wanna be here, genius."

"Why not?"

Misa snorted frustratedly, crossing her arms and sticking her snout in the air. The Tepig didn't seem to take offense to the gesture in the slightest, instead continuing on a different path.

"Sorry about attacking you and all that earlier. I bet you're cool, but y'know, Jake's my trainer, right?"

He snorted in laughter openly for a few moments, seemingly uncaring for the awkward air about the meager fire. Misa's glare only intensified.

"You didn't do squat. Be glad you had your Mienfoo friend with you, or it woulda ended real bad for you."

"Oh, Mienfoo? Yeah, she's pretty cool," Tepig responded, not having absorbed a single bit of Misa's agitatedness. "She gets mad at Jake a lot, but they're still friends."

Blitzle took the opportunity to step in at that moment, sending an unsatisfied stare in Misa's direction.

"Right. Well, if you two want to leave, I bet you can work that out with Jake. Zorua, you can use Illusions, right?"

" _No, I can't,_ " I relayed to Misa. The best escape options relied on these Pokémon not knowing I was capable of Illusions in the slightest.

"No, he can't," Misa said, going the extra, unnecessary mile by stepping in front of me to block the Blitzle's gaze. "And his name's Nox. If you guys go by your species' name, that's your problem. We've got _actual_ names, so use 'em."

"Well, _Nox_ can speak for himself, can't he?" Blitzle countered, growing visibly agitated with Misa's remarks.

"Nope. Kid hasn't said a word in his life, and _definitely_ not to someone lik-"

" _Misa, cool it! I've spoken to her, dumbass!_ "

Misa froze. Even though I couldn't see her face, I could tell she was making everything all too obvious.

"What do you mean? He said a few things outside… Back when… Nevermind, but you get the point."

"Well, uh…"

"We just wanna leave," I said, forced into interrupting the conversation. "When can we go?"

I'd put the question up as innocently as possible to try and shift attention from Misa's screwup. If Misa and I were to effectively escape, the Pokémon in Jake's possession had to harbor as little suspicion as possible. Misa wasn't doing the best of jobs when it came to easing nerves, so that burden rested on my shoulders.

At least the Axew had the werewithal to step out of the way and let me make eye contact with the Blitzle.

"Your name was Nox, wasn't it?"

I nodded.

"And yours?" she asked, hoping to act amicably once more towards Misa.

"Pfft. As if I'd-"

"Misa. Her name's Misa."

I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes at the angry glare Misa shot at me as a result of the information I'd given. Blitzle smiled lightly.

"Well, again, it's very nice to meet you both."

"When can we leave, though?" I reiterated, placing pressure once more before the conversation could die. A spark of uncertainty flashed in Blitzle's eyes.

"Soon, maybe. You're cold and wet though, aren't you? Don't you want to stay by the fire?"

The sound of the rain outside compelled me to nod again, despite how little the fire was providing in terms of warmth.

"You put up a really quick pace, you know that? I had a little bit of trouble keeping up to you."

I forced myself to smile at the amicable remark, trying to shove out of my head the fact that the Blitzle had shocked and paralyzed me just an hour earlier.

"Anyone here hungry?" Jake asked, awkwardly pusing into the conversation from his place on the sideline. He'd been sitting, silent, throughout its entirety. I hadn't forgotten he was there, but his silence was more uncomfortable than anything else, so I had chosen to ignore him.

" _We eat, we get warm, and when everyone's asleep and the rain stops, we get out of here. Far away._ "

"Whatever," Misa huffed, sitting down. I couldn't be distinguished as the words' target.

We both resigned ourselves to eat thereafter. The brand of Pokéfood Jake kept in his bag was considerably cheaper than the kind I'd eaten while under Drayden's care, inevitably leading to a dry taste in my mouth I couldn't get rid of.

 _Did I really make my team eat this stuff?_

I had only lugged around a bag of Pokéfood for maybe a year or two after starting my journey. I'd gotten horribly lost once, after having earned the Fifth Badge. I saw myself as tearing through the Gym Circuit itself and had gotten cocky. One thing had led to another, and our party, consisting then of Vita, Somin, Sierra, Axle, and I were lost in the woods.

We ran out of food after the first week or so, and had to rely entirely on the party's ability to hunt and fish. I couldn't fathom then how efficient it was. I may have had a moral dilemma then about killing feral Pokémon, but living for a month or so entirely off of the food we'd caught was surprisingly uplifting.

If I had known how bland this Pokéfood tasted, though, I would've suggested the switch a lot earlier.

Yet, I ate until I was full. Who knew the next time I would be getting an actual meal?

* * *

"Just… Ease up a bit. I'm having a ton of trouble trying to swallow this."

Somin scratched at his head for a few moments, sighing frustratedly.

" _Take your time. It was hard for all of us at first._ "

"I think I'm going to be sick."

Somin perked his head up at Skyla's remark, but was quick to settle back down.

" _Try not to do it in the tent. Mew only stole a couple, and she doesn't feel like teleporting back and forth all the time is safe. Y'know, if they can somehow track it._ "

"I don't want to hear that…"

" _I know you don't want to hear it, but that's ho-_ "

"And you didn't find either of them? Misa or No-... Ray?"

Somin closed his eyes and shook his head.

"I need to take a walk."

The brevity of the statement was only augmented by Skyla's quick motion to get up and leave the tent. She was already outside by the time Somin even understood what she said.

" _Skyla, don't. This place is crawling with ferals, and humans aren't even allowed to be here._ "

Somin huffed, stepping out of the tent and cringing at the intensity of the sun. He was in the tent with Skyla for a while, as it now must have been early afternoon.

After finally getting over the harshness of the light, he could only see Skyla for a moment as she disappeared into a nearby wooded area, apparently in a hurry.

Somin thought it best not to go after her. He was perfectly satisfied with the prospect of speaking to her as sparsely as possible. Either way, a headache was quickly forming.

"Hey Somin?"

The Zoroark, not excited to be faced with a new conversation, turned with half-lidded eyes to stare emotionlessly at Victor as he approached. The Durant stopped a few feet short, seeing the expression on Somin's face.

"I guess she didn't take it well, huh?"

"She wasn't ever someone to just take stuff. I'm tired of using Illusions anyways, so I'm just gonna let her be for a few hours."

"Well, I guess I should introduce myself whenever she does come back, right? Ray called her way back when to say I was part of the team, but we never actually talked."

Somin shrugged.

"Do what you want, man… You seen Mew anywhere?"

His speech grew progressively more and more slurred as his head began to pound. Victor scrutinized Somin for a few moments before giving an answer.

"No… Not for a bit."

"Better not be planning anything without me."

"I don't think she would… You know you can get some rest, right? Axle and I got everything covered around here."

"Not tired," Somin replied, "Sun's just too bright here. I'm out of my element."

"Maybe, but you weren't like this in Lavaridge, and the sun was pretty bright th-"

Somin opened a single eye long enough to deter Victor with a glare, prompting him to step away. Upon recognizing his own sudden, drastic change in demeanor, however, Somin sighed and let his arms hang by his side.

"Sorry. Yeah, I'm tired. Bit cranky."

"No, no, I get it…" Victor replied, lowering his guard. "Like I said, Axle and I already took care of most stuff around here while you guys were gone. Berries on the other side of the tent if you're hungry, and Axle managed to find a freshwater pool like a hundred yards that way."

Victor motioned to his left with his mandibles. Somin looked in that direction indifferently as the Durant continued.

"Go take a load off for a few hours," he concluded, turning and walking back towards the fire pit from the previous night. Vita and I want to go look for Ray too in a little bit, so if you're coming you should rest for a while. Make sure you don't slow us down."

The playful tone behind the Durant's words despite the situation prompted Somin to exhale unamusedly. Despite his disdain, however, Somin sent a quiet thanks in Victor's direction and broke off towards the pool he'd been told about.

Victor let himself relax as soon as Somin was out of sight. The Durant never felt particularly safe around the Zoroark, and right then was no exception. He knew he could rely on his teammate, but Somin was known to be rather rash. They hadn't conflicted with each other too violently in the past, but Victor's mind flashed back to when Somin attacked Jet after they discovered Ray had been transformed.

This was a very high-pressure situation, and Somin had demonstrated that he wasn't exactly the most stable of creatures under pressure. Victor often forgot that the Zoroark was capable of using Flamethrower, which made him even more of a frightening figure. He didn't want to be scared of Somin, his _teammate,_ but he couldn't help it.

" _All good?_ "

The telepathic voice frightened Victor. He calmed down after a few moments, however, as he spotted Mew's pink fur standing out against a nearby tree trunk. She was sprawled out on a branch belly-down, looking at the Durant curiously.

"Yeah… I did what you asked, told him to go rest."

" _Thanks for that. I knew he wouldn't accept the advice coming from me, but I need him at his best if we're going back to look for Ray soon._ "

"Right. About that…"

" _You want to come with. I heard what you said to Somin._ "

Victor chuckled nervously.

" _Somethin' up? You look like you're ready to run._ "

Mew watched indifferently as Victor quickly composed himself, mandibles twitching as he readjusted his footing.

"S-Sorry…"

" _Don't be. Not like you're the first one to be scared of me._ "

"Of you? N-no."

Mew sighed, pushing off her branch and making a slow descent towards the ground on which Victor stood. He took a few subconscious steps back.

She landed just a few feet in front of him, choosing to stand on her hind paws rather than levitate. At her full height, she stood only a few inches taller than Victor.

" _Better?_ "

"Uhh…"

The situation was uncomfortable, to say the least. Victor couldn't discern whether or not he felt even more anxious. The sight of her standing on her own wasn't unnatural, but certainly odd.

" _Guess not._ "

"L-look, I'm sorry if me being nervous is weird, or unusual, or w-whatever, but you're…"

Victor trailed off. He'd since lowered his head to avert his eyes from Mew's soft stare, but looked up for a moment to force out the last word.

"Mew…"

" _And?_ "

"The god of Pokémon."

" _And?_ "

Victor had nothing else to say. He tried grasping at words for a few moments, but came up fruitless.

" _Let's pretend I'm not all that. Let's pretend I'm just a regular Pokémon. What would you say to me?"_

"Uh… Hi?"

" _See? Better, isn't it?_ "

Victor tried smiling, but what came out was something between a grimace and a pained expression.

" _No, it's not weird, to answer your question. Jet and Ray were the exact same way. Vita's just been kinda… Out of it, so it's not like she even notices in the first place, and Somin's Somin. Maybe he would act different if the situation was… Not this._ "

"Axle?"

The fact Mew choked a question out of the Durant, however stilted, was enough to let her put on a reassuring smile as she answered.

" _He didn't know what to do when we spoke for a bit. Just froze up and let me do most of the talking, y'know?"_

Victor forced a curt nod, feeling Mew's smile melt away a small portion of his anxiety.

" _You'd have to_ _ **really**_ _cross me to get on my bad side,_ " Mew continued in an attempt at humor, chuckling to herself afterwards. " _But you guys are cool._ "

"Right…"

" _I don't think it takes a genius to figure out I don't trust Drayden, and it's not like I can just tie him up whenever I leave…_ "

Her train of thought seemed to derail right there. She looked away for a moment, contemplating something.

" _Eh, if it comes to it… Anyways, since everyone wants to come look for Ray, we need to figure out what to do for them, right?_ "

"Okay."

" _Glad we're on the same page. So, to answer your question: yeah, you can come. I actually gotta run and check up on some stuff, but I'll be back in time to take us back to Unova. Guess Drayden won't be a problem, not like he can get away anyways…_ "

Victor shifted his weight back and forth, uncomfortable with the fact Mew had started talking to herself. Did she remember he was still there?

"So…"

" _Hmm? Oh, yeah. Be ready in a few hours, we'll probably leave as soon as I get back._ "

Victor nodded again, prompting Mew to roll her eyes and take a few steps forward. Alarms rang out in the Durant's head, and he felt himself freeze again as Mew extended an arm and patted him on the back. Her touch was surprisingly soft, contrary to expectation. Who could've guessed one of the strongest creatures in existence could be so gentle?

" _Keep your head up. I don't like the looks of this, but we're gonna figure out where Ray is and we're gonna get him back. You're not the only one he's saved._ "

Victor paused for a few more seconds before sending Mew a curious glance. She closed her eyes and smiled again before taking a step back and disappearing entirely.

She was gone, allowing Victor to sigh in relief as his legs gave out.

* * *

Vita raised her head, letting solemn eyes glance over Somin's unkempt fur for a moment before laying back down.

"I saw Skyla storm by about a minute ago… I'm guessing it didn't go well?"

Somin rolled his eyes exhaustedly, continuing his approach. Vita had been sunbathing near the water's edge. He collapsed entirely on Vita's coiled body with a grunt, not even bothering to brace his fall with his arms.

"Ray apparently did a really good job tricking her. Better than I thought he could," he said, voice muffled considering he was laying snout-down. "Maybe too good."

Vita shifted, slowly re-coiling herself around Somin's limp form. Taking advantage of the opportunity, she began licking at a few tangled knots of fur.

"He did well for himself," she said softly. "He can't handle himself, though, not in the wild. Neither can that Axew."

"I should've grabbed him off of Reshiram when we met in the tunnels. Just when I think we're all gonna get back together, he's gone again. What happened, Vita? A few weeks ago we were fighting Gyms and earning badges, and now, because o-"

"I know where you're going with this," Vita interrupted in a stone-cold voice. "I don't care whatever grudge you have against Mew for what she did for Ray. If it weren't for her, you wouldn't be _alive_ right now, Somin."

"What do you mean?"

"You think your recovery after you got injured fighting Drayden was just a coincidence? Don't be blind, Somin. You and I both know that Mew saved your life."

Somin didn't respond, but Vita could feel his breathing as it started to grow labored.

"The UPF would've killed Ray even if Mew hadn't shown up. He would be dead too if it wasn't for her. Do you have any idea what that would've done to the rest of us? If both of you were gone?"

"Stop."

"No, Somin. All I've seen you do is pass off blame on the easiest target for all of this. I love you more than anything on this earth, but you need to _stop_. How do you think Ray feels? Being forced to choose between satisfying his best friend and helping a Pokémon that needs his support, his friendship, regardless of how powerful she is?"

No response. Somin hadn't even so much as twitched.

"I need you to stop this. Yes, it's mostly her fault, but it seems sometimes that she's the only one that's willing to fix it."

"The hell are you talking about?" Somin exclaimed, head snapping to meet Vita's eyes with fury. "Don't you _dare_ tell me I haven't been trying to fix this! I'd die for Ray, just like he would for me, or you, or anyone else on this team! You think I don't want to fix this?!"

"Then focus on fixing it, instead of wasting so much space in that empty head of yours trying to find who to blame for why it happened. I can easily turn the blame for this whole situation back around on you, and yet I don't."

Somin could feel his claws twitching as his arms were pinned by his sides. He probably could've lashed out if he truly wanted to, but… This was Vita. He couldn't bring himself to retaliate even in the slightest. He didn't want to hear the words that he knew were about to follow, but he couldn't bring himself to escape, or to ignore. He looked away to hide his face as Vita continued.

"You've never admitted it, but I _know_ you coerced Ray into killing his father. You know that's why the UPF wants us dead in the first place, right? Because Ray killed one of their admins? This is just as much your fault as it is Mew's, and I don't see her constantly hating you because of it!"

Somin shut his eyes tight.

"I… I didn't-"

"We need you to focus on the now, Somin. Right now. Our trainer is out there, needing us more than anything else in the world, and if you're too occupied thinking about Mew to even care fully for what's going on. I'll tell her to leave you here while we go look, Somin, if it comes to that."

"I didn't tell him to do anything," Somin choked out, trying to force Vita's recent threat out of mind. "I… I honestly didn't mean to. Ray was feeling down, you know? We were in Black City, it was the day after we visited her grave, and he was just really out of it. I talked to him. We talked for a really, really long time, but the conversation just went south. I don't know if I said it as a joke to try and cheer him up, or something I said under my breath, or what, but it just slipped out."

Somin looked into Vita's eyes pleadingly.

"And you know what? I was angry, too. We were both just so, so angry, and we weren't thinking, and we just did it. Partners. Nobody 'coerced' anybody, but… Gods, I know it was my fault, but I didn't mean it!"

Vita's expression softened as Somin finished venting. After giving the thought a few seconds to sit, she said her final words with forgiving eyes.

"And do you think Mew meant to do what she did to Ray?"

Somin clamped his muzzle shut, speechless. His eyes quickly shot down thereafter as he relaxed, defeated.

"Fine… You got me."

"Don't get yourself down because of it," Vita encouraged. "I just need you to take a long look at yourself the next time you think something mean about Mew. Please? If anything, it'd make me feel a lot better."

"Yeah… Okay. Look, Vita, I-"

"Sh. I'm asleep now. Conversation's over."

Somin held his breath for a moment before exhaling sharply, shifting into a more comfortable position without further words. He caught a glimpse, however, of something green in a divot in the sand nearby. Vita's egg. His egg.

He watched it for a while, even after he felt Vita's breathing begin to smooth as she slipped into unconsciousness.

He eventually sighed, having received all the answers he needed. He could feel a twinge of… Something as he joined Vita in sleep.

* * *

"I mean, it's not like I have any badges right now, but I'm trying, you know? I grew up around here, and I need to rack up the prize money from battling random trainers to try and get a plane ticket to Striaton. That's when we can _really_ get serious."

Jake had been talking for quite a while. After he realized his Pokémon, Misa, and I had nothing more to say to each other, he just began rambling to Misa and I both about his journey up until that point. I had initially pegged him as rather awkward and reserved, despite his display of anger against me earlier. I couldn't say it surprised me to learn that he was a complete chatterbox underneath.

I had long since zoned him out and tried to focus on finding a position in which I could make the most of the small fire while being mindful of each and every sore muscle in my system. I wasn't feeling most of my injuries from earlier, when I'd fallen off Reshiram, but my side was absolutely killing me. It was bruised heavily, making it uncomfortable to lay on but not entirely inhibiting of my movement. My paws hurt the most right then, considering there were still small bits of grit stuck in them from when I'd tried escaping the Blitzle.

Misa, oddly enough, actually paid attention to what the boy had to say regarding his journey up until that point. I had gotten that he'd only been on the road for about a month, alternating between wandering the forest outside Opelucid and taking breaks at his home in the city.

Misa was more invested in the concept of the Gym Circuit, which was only natural. She hadn't gotten an incredibly descriptive account of what it was like while we were under the care of Drayden's dragons. Even if she too was obvious in her contempt towards the boy, she took the opportunity to the fullest. She actually seemed relatively intrigued as Jake dove into an explanation of how the Gym Circuit worked.

" _Don't get too hopeful,_ " I told her after while. I didn't want her getting _too_ invested, and it certainly looked like she was heading down that path. " _Maybe when all this is over we can arrange something, but you wouldn't wanna go into a Gym fight with this dude at the wheel. He doesn't know what he's doing._ "

She'd since gotten used to acting like she couldn't hear me whenever I used Illusions to speak with her, but the look of disapproval on her face following what I told her was undeniable. As the human drabbled on, Misa caught the attention of the Tepig, who'd since sprawled out near the fire and was apparently half-asleep.

"In these Gym Battles… Does Mr. Genius over here control everything we do?"

"Well, not _everything_ , but Pokémon are supposed to listen to the trainer."

"What? He'd just slow everything down, though!"

"I guess sometimes the trainer sees stuff we can't? I dunno, but it works out fine with him telling me what to do. We win fights together… Sometimes."

Misa huffed, now turned off from the conversation entirely. I thought it for the best, honestly. The Axew wasn't the brightest bulb in the bunch, but I was still determined to stay together. Her having second thoughts was the last thing I needed.

I couldn't help but let out a large yawn, sparking an idea in my mind.

" _Okay, we're gonna speed this up. Rain's almost stopped and I'm all dried off now. Act really, really tired. If we all go to sleep, then we can slip away, find us a place to hide._ "

I really didn't want to have to move, but I knew it to be necessary. I could walk, at least for a while.

Misa exhaled, closing her eyes to confirm that she'd heard me. She waved off the Tepig before yawning forcibly.

Jake, oblivious at first, continued with his rambling about daily life until he noticed Misa as she started to rub her eyes. Playing along, I finally found a decent laying position and let my eyes go half-lidded.

"Oh, I bet you guys are tired, huh? That's okay, we'll get to know each other better tomorrow."

I cared not for the sincerity behind the human's words. Even if he wanted to train Misa and I for more than the fact that we were relatively rare Pokémon, we needed to gather our bearings without having to worried about being held captive once again.

Plus, he ordered an attack on me. Nobody could kick me around and expect me to forget about it.

"Well, come on then. Blitzle, Tepig, you guys know the drill."

The Tepig, in the short time since Misa's conversation with him, had already fallen back asleep and was loudly snoring near the fire. Blitzle, conversely, stood from her crouched position and nodded towards her trainer.

My heart fell as I figured out what this meant. Hell, I'd done it too, back when I was a novice trainer.

He recalled the both of them without further exchange, returning them to their balls in a flash of red light. Misa quickly got what this meant for her and stood up with surprising speed. She took a step back, raising up her arms.

"Uh… Now that I think about it, I'm not that tired. Maybe we can talk for a bit more, yeah?"

Jake, unknowing of and uncaring towards her objections, recalled her as well. She sent a desperate glance in my direction as she disappeared.

I was only snapped out of my thoughts as Jake addressed me directly.

"I guess you gotta sleep out here, since none of my balls would capture you… Well, go ahead and sleep wherever. I'll see you in the morning."

After attaching each of the three balls to his belt, he took it off entirely, laid it out nearby, and slipped into his sleeping bag. As he changed clothes from his hiking gear to his pajamas within the sleeping bag itself, I began to think how I would now go about our escape.

 _Okay, no more surprises. What did I do when I was his age that could stop us from escaping?_

I perused my memories for a few moments.

 _We're not strong enough to break the failsafe mechanism and smash the ball entirely… Distance lock, though. Damn it. He probably has it enabled, meaning we can only get so far before Misa gets automatically recalled. We'll have to take the ball with us when we leave. That'll be a pain._

Perhaps we would eventually encounter someone that could break it for us. Until then, it would be something Misa would have to carry, considering I physically couldn't. It would be her problem, in the end.

And so, I acted like I simply shut my eyes and went to sleep. I always made sure to keep an eye on Jake and the belt both. It was just about pitch black in the building, and the fire died out within minutes of silence. It was freezing.

I reveled in the fact I could see through the darkness in this instance. There were certainly undeniable perks of this body, such as my vision or my hearing, that'd helped me more than once during dire situations over the past few weeks.

I soon became faced with the problem, however, of figuring out which of the Pokéballs was the one to house Misa. I hadn't had the wherewithal earlier to check and see where he'd put her ball, and quickly found myself in a high-stakes guessing game.

 _It would make the most sense if hers was one of the ones on the end, but I didn't organize my Pokéballs either when I was this kid's age…_

My mouth quickly became dry as I realized I was stumped. Making sure to make no noise, I skimmed over each individual ball with the hopes of finding some identifying factor, but in the end was only able to find one with a special notch on the back signifying it'd been given at a Distribution Center. I could at least rule out the Tepig.

This left me with a one in three chance. The odds were too small. I couldn't release each one to check; the noise would surely wake up the sleeping Jake and attract suspicion towards Misa and me both.

I thought for a moment on whether or not just to give it up, considering the risk of failing was much worse than the penalty of having to wait an extra night. However, I quickly shot down this idea. There was no doubt in my mind that Alder and the UPF were actively searching for me. Jake would be quick to take me right into town and try to figure out why I was so easily able to resist capture. Misa and I _needed_ to stay away from civilization.

 _Oh, gods… I have to choose one._

My luck sucked. It really did. The Tepig's ball was on the far end of the belt, so maybe Jake _did_ have a way of organizing. With that in mind, I could feel the weight of the world on my shoulders as I set my sights on the other end of the belt, the fourth Pokéball. I stayed still for at least a minute, scrutinizing it as closely as possible before opening my maw and securing it. I made sure my teeth avoided the release button entirely, but even in its shrunken state I was still having trouble holding it steady in my mouth.

Jake shifted in his sleep, frightening me. Figuring it was time to leave, I turned and darted towards the exit, making sure to be quick yet as silent as possible.

I ran with the ball for a few hundred yards before stopping and making sure nobody had followed me. I turned my attention soon thereafter to the ball I'd grabbed.

This really was a one-in-three odds that could either make or break how the rest of my life would pan out. As an extra measure when I readied myself, I ensured that I could maintain control over the ball and retract a wrong decision if necessary.

I closed my eyes tight and said a few words of prayer before tentatively pressing down.

Perhaps a half a second had passed before I felt the ball be forcefully knocked away from my controlling paws. My heart fell soon thereafter as I realized I'd made a wrong choice.

The assailant was on me in an instant, quick to spin me around and push me into the ground with a paw. A quick look at the attacker revealed it to be the Mienfoo I'd seen only briefly earlier. She didn't seem at all happy I'd stolen her ball.

With her free paw she deterred any resistance by keeping it charged in a harsh, orange light. I'd never taken a super-effective attack before, considering my lack of experience with fighting, bug, and fairy types until that moment. I wasn't all too keen on finding out what it felt like to be a dark type on the receiving end of a Force Palm.

I whined pitifully for a moment to try and evoke from her some sense of mercy, but I was left fruitless.

"Why'd you take me here?" she interrogated, silencing me with more pressure on my ribcage. "What do you want?"

"S-Sorry!" I coughed out, closing my eyes. "I didn't mea-"

"Shut up."

I opened my eyes again to find she was looking around cautiously into the night. I froze and shut my mouth as commanded.

"He's such an idiot," the Mienfoo remarked to herself. "Letting a hatchling steal from him, really?"

"I-"

"Zip it. We're going back."

Before I could protest, the same paw she'd used to pin me to the floor harshly had grabbed a fair share of the fur on my chest. She yanked it uncomfortably, eliciting a short yip as I was dragged to my feet.

"W-wait," I said, walking backwards. Even if she never let up on her grip, the Mienfoo paused and turned back towards me with a grimace.

"Look. We don't want to be here," I complained, appealing to the one creature in that instant that could, perhaps, help me. "You don't look like you want to be with this guy either, so can't we just… Work together?"

Her grimace quickly morphed into a scowl as she let go of my fur. However, she took a step towards me, bipedal figure towering over me menacingly.

"You don't understand _any_ of this, so don't try and act like you know what I want."

"Pl-"

"Unless you want to take a crack at killing the human, the first thing you gotta learn about being a captured 'mon is that there's no escape, alright?"

"I… I just need my friend's ball. Please."

"I'm letting this one slip-up be a freebie. But you gotta realize, your friend isn't going anywhere."

She let the notion sit for a few moments, eyes glaring deep into my own.

"She goes a certain distance away from her ball, and boom, she's recalled. She tries taking that ball anywhere she goes, boom, she's tracked. It's almost impossible to destroy, impossible to have her released unless the human does it himself, and the only way around all of this is threatening the kid or killing him, neither of which you guys are able to do. So forget it. You're done. Welcome to the team."

She began walking away soon thereafter, leaving the thought to sit in my head.

"I don't care."

The Mienfoo paused before turning, confused.

"Didn't you hear a word I just said?"

"And I don't care. I know Misa can beat that Tepig, meaning you're the only reason she's locked up in the first place."

I even surprised myself with the boldness of my words. The Mienfoo still had the type advantage, not to mention undoubtedly more combat experience. Even the façade of the baby Zorua disappeared altogether.

"So you're gonna show me which ball is hers, we're gonna leave, and if the human tracks us, you're not gonna fight, meaning we get away. Just a cat and mouse game, all the way until we find our friends and they break the ball for us. Then everyone's on their merry way."

I let the words linger in the air for a few moments. My heart fell, however, when I saw the Mienfoo turn fully towards me and begin walking back. Her fist burst to life in orange energy; she was charging an attack.

I crouched into the best battle position I could muster, now feeling the instinct to shoot an Illusionary connection towards her as a means of preparing to fight. Meanwhile, I directed enough energy into my front claws to prepare a primitive Scratch.

Quick thinking as she picked up her pace led me to push a single word through the connection. I'd since been practicing sending words as if they'd come from a different direction, and I was happy to see it worked.

Right as the Mienfoo thought she'd heard Jake's voice to her right, prompting her to immediately cease her attack and turn, I sprung towards her. I felt satisfaction beyond belief as my Scratch connected, causing her to wince and take a step back.

She was beyond confused, looking around for Jake while processing the fact I'd attacked first. When it dawned on her, however, that the human was nowhere to be found, she turned back towards me with an expression of increasing anger.

She was certainly shocked of my capability to use Illusions, but quickly moved past it, taking another few steps forward and raising her arm to strike.

I found myself now defenseless, having used as much of a trick I could've conjured in the moment. Already I was beginning to feel drained. I braced myself for the incoming impact.

But it never came.

When I tentatively opened my eyes seconds later, the Mienfoo's own eyes were shut, attacking fist still raised and glowing a vibrant orange. Instead, however, she discharged into the air, energy harmlessly running over me as the glow disappeared entirely.

She turned away and rubbed her face vigorously afterwards. I took a step away from her, assuming a regular position.

"I'm not gonna hit you because you want to leave," she simply said, "Hell, that's all I want, too. But I can't say I won't fight you guys if we run into you again."

She began walking away once again, this time in a way that actually made me want to follow her. I proposed a question, however, as I took chase.

"If you don't like the human, why do you fight for him?"

She was silent for a few seconds afterwards, only choosing to answer as we'd almost made our way back into the abandoned structure.

"Experience is experience, and one day, I'm gonna be strong enough to kick his ass so bad he won't ever want to catch another Pokémon."

* * *

Mew always hated visiting here.

Of all the places, in all the realities she knew with some semblance of familiarity, the lack of structural integrity in the Distortion World threw her off the most. She felt uneasy with an inability to find sense in everything around her. In her reality, everything made sense: the people, the Pokémon… She knew why the sky was blue, why the trees were green.

And yet the only being that could truly make sense of the Distortion World was nothing more than a mindless husk that'd succeeded in knocking her out not even a full day before.

Mew tried easing the unease brought about in the Distortion World by crossing her arms as she flew. She roughly rubbed her fur the wrong way with every intention of detracting attention from the volatile, purple sky and miles upon miles of what seemed like nothing more than floating debris. Dilapidated buildings, if one could even call them that, were attached to dozens upon dozens of levitating islands, static despite the chaotic sky.

She could imagine a world without most of the Primes currently missing. Yet, she didn't even know an up-to-date quantity as far as the disappearances themselves went. It had seemed, before Mew learned of Giratina's capture, that Darkrai was easily the most influential of the Primes to have been captured. It was an easy explanation for the odd dreams Ray had told her about, but even then she had been reluctant to tell him. She'd never explicitly confirmed or denied the disappearances of her brethren.

For what reason? She was still unsure. She trusted Ray despite his tendency to act rash. Why else would she allow him to hold the title of her 'trainer'? Perhaps it'd just never come to mind to sit him down and simply tell him of her circumstances.

No… She knew why. She was scared of frightening him even further. Frightening him away… Mew knew she was acting selfish, but how would she be able to live with herself if she lost anoth—

She inhaled sharply and straightened up, eyes darting about the chaotic world around her. She wasn't alone, and she had to remember the reason why she'd come. She hadn't previously known of Giratina's capture, raising the question of how the Distortion World remained in balance with reality without its keeper.

Her fur bristled. Was it Alder again? No, she was being paranoid. The human was nothing more than that: a human. Small sounds echoed through the empty space she inhabited. It was everywhere…

She prepared an attack, instantly ready to strike.

" **Mew?** "

Eyes widening, she whipped her head around and yelled as she preemptively unleashed a Psyshock where she determined the threat to be.

A hasty barrier was thrown up to halt the attack. The target struggled to maintain a Protect long enough for the strike to fizzle out altogether. The sound alone was loud enough to fill much of the otherwise eerily silent world around them with a booming echo.

" **Calm yourself,** " the voice spoke again, considerably scratchy yet distinctly female. " **Look at me.** "

Still on high-alert, Mew charged herself up once again to let off another attack, but paused as the energy from her previous one began to disappear and she got a thorough look at the creature opposite her.

" _P-Palky?_ "

The amount of relief on Palkia's face at Mew's remark was immeasurable.

" **I thought for a moment you were one of them… I don't know what I would've done if I was pitted against you.** "

Mew let her breathing start to slow as she fell back, rubbing her face as if she was trying to wipe the unease off it altogether.

The great dragon floated perhaps a few dozen feet away, but quickly closed in as she let her guard down.

" _Never scare me like that again. This place always gives me the creeps, and you're not helping._ "

Palkia's features softened as she came to rest, towering over Mew's minute figure.

" **I'm so glad to see you. It's been so long, and I honestly was starting to get so, incredibly lonely here…** "

Mew was quiet as Palkia inhaled deeply.

" **But, right to business I suppose… I know why you're here. You saw Giratina, didn't you?** "

" _Bit more than saw him,"_ Mew responded snarkily, crossing her arms. " _Scumbag actually knocked me out… If it weren't for Reshy I wouldn't have gotten away._ "

" **You've seen Reshiram? I knew he was in Unova, but he did quite a job of hiding himself. You as well, though from that mess in Hoenn I figured you'd finally found yourself a human. Where is he now? He has a human too, no?** "

" _He, uh… Well, it's complicated… There's a lot to catch you up on, I guess… But yeah. I found a human. Whoop-de-doo._ "

Palkia smiled lightly. " **After you so adamantly opposed the consensus? I thought you capable of handling yourself, at the very least, but every other Prime has a human of their own… Even myself. A kind older woman in Sinnoh. It really has been a long time since I've seen her…** "

" _Palky, the last thing I wanna do is burst your bubble here, but the situation with my human is complicated at best and completely screwed at worst. In any case, Reshy's gone… Like, gone. We ran into Darky, encounter didn't go well, and he… Reshy immolated so I could escape._ "

" **What?** "

" _Yeah, yesterday wasn't the happiest of days… Now I'm stuck with Reshy's human and-"_

" **Mew, I really have to ask you stop with the nicknames for right now. I'm having trouble wrapping my head around this.** "

" _Yeah, sure… It's just that everything happened so fast. Reshiram was with the Unovan Dragon freak, and we butted heads… Long story short, the Unovan champion is one of the jerks behind all this. Basically meaning he's got an entire human region behind him. Probably why he's been able to get as far as he has…_ "

Palkia took a second to absorb this before looking to her left.

" **Come. There's something you should see. A…** _ **complication**_ **surrounding Giratina's capture.** "

Before Mew could say anything further, the dragon had already begun to float away, leaving her with nothing to do but follow.

" **Are your companions situated wherever they are?** "

" _Yeah, they should be good, but doesn't time work differently in here anyways? Like, I remember Tin-... Giratina telling me about how he'd been working together more with Yveltal to ease the flow of deaths, and he said something like that._ "

" **The Distortion World is nothing more than a gateway, yet one that tethers every reality I myself govern. Time doesn't exist; the souls that pass through here are reincarnated almost instantaneously. Time isn't slowed, or stopped… It just simply doesn't exist in this reality.** "

" _Yeah… Whatever. That's what you're doing here, then? Keeping a watch over this place to make sure it doesn't fall apart while Giratina's gone?_ "

" **As best I can. I may be the ruler of space, but the Distortion World is something else entirely. Something only Giratina truly understood. I've seen Xerneas and Yveltal from time to time, and they've tried helping me, but I quite honestly can only make sure this world doesn't become detached from every other out there. As for its function… Well, that's another issue entirely.** "

" _And Giratina?_ "

" **Giratina's capture will eventually rend unimaginable consequences. I may be able to govern this world, but I surely can't act as Giratina did in his role in the life and death cycle. That's why you're here, isn't it? To find out why everything seems fine despite Giratina's disappearance?** "

" _I guess._ "

The duo came upon a landmass. Considerably larger than any around it, a gigantic ridge acted as a border for the basin inside. Palkia began ascending alongside the rock and dirt to reach the top.

A thought crossed Mew's mind. With only a few seconds of thought, it'd expanded to the point she felt sick to her stomach.

" _Xerneas and Yveltal are beings of life and death. They decide when and why a life comes into or leaves existence, and lead souls to and from the Reverse World during reincarnation… Giratina, though, he was the one who acted as the balancing factor. The one that passed judgement on each soul and decided its fate. Where it would go, what it would be… Giratina was the gate. Now that he's gone…"_

Palkia was silent, having just reached the crest of the landmass. Mew had an inkling of what lied on the other side, and sent Palkia an uneasy glance as she caught up.

She reluctantly rose to the dragon's level and peered out over the basin.

"Oh no…"

She spoke audibly, no longer feeling up to even using her own psychic powers to speak. All it took was a single glance at what looked to be billions of small, multicolored masses of pure energy to completely douse her hopes of anything being right.

" **They're just piling up… Time doesn't exist in the Distortion World, but time certainly exists around it. Deaths from every conceivable reality leave souls that have nowhere to go but here.** "

Mew felt like she was going to be sick. Did the UPF have any idea of what they were meddling in?

"How long has he been gone?"

" **It's hard for me to tell. I haven't been able to feel the passage of time while I've been here, but looking at these souls… Long enough, I suppose.** "

Mew said nothing.

" **Manaphy, Victini, Regigigas, Ho-Oh, Zekrom, Jirachi, Darkrai, Giratina, and Arceus. That's eight. Eight disappearances, and now life will begin to finally feel the effects beyond the immediate. Do you know what happens when a child is born without a soul, Mew?** "

"Stop…"

" **It will cry, it will feed, it will waste, but it won't feel. It won't create memories, or show emotion, or anything of the sort. It's a husk, and only Giratina has the power to facilitate the process of instilling a soul.** "

"I… I can't… Palkia, there's nothing I can do."

Mew fell back from the ridge and came to rest in the air, hands on her heads and eyes wide open.

"T-they were able to capture Giratina with the technology they have, and they won't stop… I get the human idea now, okay? It's a way to hide, sure, but it doesn't even matter after seeing what we're up against. Everyone has _no_ idea what they're dealing with! The UPF too, they can't have a clue about what they're doing!"

" **I'm well aware. Yveltal and Xerneas have been cooperative, and have diminished the flow of life and death to near stagnancy, but it's simply unnatural. Something has to give.** "

Mew said nothing in response, swallowing her bile and straightening herself out.

" **I can sense you found a clan of Shaymin to send you here. I have nothing else to show you, if you'd like to get back to your companions.** "

" _N-not yet,_ " Mew said, finally gathering herself enough to use telepathy once again. " _Palkia, we need to talk about what to_ _ **do**_ _about all this. Humans are starting to overpower us._ _ **Us**_ _. There's only six Primes missing not including burned-to-a-crisp Darkrai, so if we just get enough firepower we c-_ "

" **You fail to realize that there are eight missing including Darkrai. Arceus, even if we don't know for sure whether or not he's been captured, is capable of destroying each and every one of us if he so chooses. You'd have to come at this much more carefully.** "

" _They_ _ **don't**_ _have him. Arceus doesn't have to follow any physical laws or rules like we do. Even then, Reshiram told me that none of the Primes they have captured have any control over anything but their pure ability to fight. If Arceus doesn't have control over reality, I could probably take him._ "

" **You have too much faith.** "

" _Faith's all I got right now. Faith that every captured Prime can be restored to their own selves if we beat the tar out of the guys behind all this. Otherwise… We're so, royally screwed."_

* * *

 **And so, after two full acts and hundreds of thousands of words, the true consequences to the conflict is finally revealed.**

 **Do I regret not establishing a true conflict outside of those involving Ray until now? Possibly. I was extremely ambiguous regarding the true, central conflict for this story, the one referenced in the description, which I find now to be incredibly messy.**

 **This fic has truly devolved into two story lines intertwining with one another. Ray's conflict has certainly been the central focus of the story up until just recently, and it will honestly continue to remain this way for quite some time. I'd like to say it right here, right now, however: Ray is not the main protagonist.**

 **Seven and Counting is Mew's story. It tells Mew's story through Ray's perspective as nothing more than a storyteller that has a pivotal, but not as important a role in the grand scheme of things as Mew herself. Even then, the story has, and is planned to tell the story in tandem between both perspectives. Ray's journey, however is much more personal than Mew's.**

 **The sole reason I haven't stopped myself from going on this tangent is because, while both storylines have been separate-yet-related for most of the fic, Act IV finally gives them unity, along with the reason they've both been told in a single piece of literature.**

 **I'm honestly unsure about how cluttered this story has seemingly become. This is the product of months upon months of thought, and I'm ready enough to admit that my thought process was a mess. For what was supposed to be a test run, this story has blown itself way out of proportion. It wasn't originally intended to be a story that invokes thought or include multiple different, overarching plotlines, but that's the product.**

 **And, speaking honestly, this is why this story was intended as a test run.**

 **I now know the consequences of letting my imagination run entirely wild. I need to be setting boundaries in the early stages of the story, rather than leave it up for whatever.**

 **I've been in the works writing a few different fics that I may or may not publish in the future, taking what I've learned from writing SaC and applying it in a more efficient way. I definitely plan to publish at least one of them as soon as SaC is complete; a Mystery Dungeon Fic that I've been visualizing for a couple years now. Perhaps I'll have much more fun writing that than I currently do this…**

 **Bit of a fun fact: I don't like this story that much. It's gotten a bit too complicated even for my tastes, and I've written many, many characters into the ground. Every prominent male character bar Skipp tends to be a chore to write.**

 **None of this means this project is going under. I've already increased time between each upload, but I don't want this to be considered as a means by which I steadily ease off updating until the project dies altogether. I can't say the ending itself is going to be entirely fleshed out as most other parts in the story, but I'm definitely determined to end what has now become more than a three year project (I started planning this stupid thing a year and a half before uploading the first chapter).**

 **Well, with that, I'll see y'all in the next chapter.**


	26. On the Run

**l**

 **Chapter XXV - On the Run**

* * *

I sneezed again, shaking myself out afterwards.

"You're not getting sick, are you shrimp?"

"I dunno," I replied, picking up my pace until I was, once again, next to Misa as she continued on. My sneezing had interrupted our walk multiple times in the last ten minutes, and often I felt the need to stop for a minute or two.

"Eh, long as you power through it. Sun rose like an hour ago, so the human's probably already following us."

I warily eyed the Pokéball Misa was carrying, small enough for her to carry in a single hand in its shrunken state. We were undoubtedly being tracked by now, but at the very least Misa and I had gotten a few hours of a head start. I wasn't exactly familiar with this particular area of Unova, meaning we were simply wandering east with no destination in mind. I doubted we would ever go far enough to hit Lacunosa, but Opelucid was long behind us at this point.

The Mienfoo that'd helped me release Misa was a mystery, certainly. She'd said absolutely nothing before plucking Misa's particular ball off of Jake's belt before handing it to me and recalling herself. I'd thought on her behavior for hours after our anti-climactic conflict, and yet she still confounded me.

Her motives were weak, at best. Training under a trainer in order to beat up said trainer in the ambiguous future? It sounded unnecessarily convoluted. And yet, right then I had little to no regard for her demeanor. As long as Misa and I were able to effectively escape, I was willing to go along with whatever made the Mienfoo happy.

What worried me was that she was obviously stronger than both of us, and with how erratic she'd already demonstrated herself to be, I doubted Jake would have much of a difficult experience recapturing us. All it took was him recovering Misa's ball, and our plan was instantly washed.

The fact I had undoubtedly caught a cold from my overexposure to the rain and wind of the previous night couldn't hold us back from putting as much space between us and him as possible.

"I'm good, don't worry about it."

"'Kay then… Have any idea where we're actually headed?"

"Not a clue."

"Great… If this kid's tracking us, we should hide out somewhere, right?"

"I honestly didn't think this far ahead," I remarked, sneezing again. I could feel my body aching, fatigued way too early for my liking. The fact I was sick certainly didn't help. "Best next move would probably be to try and find a way to destroy your ball, but as of right now we got no connections…"

Misa shrugged. "Doesn't really matter. You can always just Illusion yourself as a human and act like my trainer, right?"

I glared for a moment at the back of her head. "You're acting like I have any clue how to really transform myself using Illusions, let alone trick multiple people or Pokémon with it. Not happening, Misa. That stuff that happened in the cave was a one-time deal."

"Why's it a one-time deal?" she asked, cluelessly turning around with a crooked brow.

"Because whatever _that_ was, it was dangerous. It wasn't me, Misa, it was something else entirely. Part of Mew that's trapped inside me, but still something that's apparently gonna give me a really, really bad time if it ever pops out again."

She stopped, crossing her arms and allowing me to catch up.

"Well, whatever it was, at least it was able to actually do something. Look at you, shrimp. I'm walking slow and you're falling behind."

"I'm trying… Really trying he-"

I violently sneezed again, followed almost immediately by a whole chain. I groaned after I was finished, having caught up to Misa.

"I can't carry you in this thing, can I?" Misa asked genuinely, holding up her shrunken Pokéball for me to see.

"No."

"Then, uh… How do you… Y'know, get better?"

I rolled my eyes at the question.

"Rest, I guess? Rest and medicine, neither of which I can get without the human we just ditched. Priority number one is finding someone, or someplace, that's strong enough to protect us from the trainer until we can fend for ourselves."

"So what, we just walk up and ask the strongest 'mon we can find if they'll take us in?"

"I guess? I don't know, Misa, I haven't exactly thought about it."

"It sounds stupid. Like, really stupid. Cuz then we just get what happened with Seraph and the other dragons all over again, don't we?"

"What do you mean?"

"Ray, look… You're like, super duper scrawny and tiny and helpless, and anybody nice enough to 'protect' us from the human kid isn't gonna let you and me just go on our merry way afterwards."

I flattened my ears at the remarks regarding my appearance.

"What I'm saying is that if we look for help, we're gonna get too much of it. Basically prisoners again, like we were with Seraph and Skipp, right?"

"Don't act like we were prisoners just because that's what I think. I know they had good intentions, and I know you really liked them too. This would be nothing like Skipp and Seraph, alright?"

Misa's eyes narrowed at my remark. She simply shrugged me off afterwards, however, instead of countering.

"Still a stupid idea anyways."

"There's always the option of going back to the tunnels and trying to see if the tracker in the Pokéball loses signal."

"Yeah, but there's bad guys that gotta be crawling the place, right? Like, if they were after your pink friend and R-Reshiram… Well, they'd be just tearing apart Drayden's whole Gym for clues, right?"

"That's… Actually probably true."

"Yeah…"

"I mean, I doubt we'll ever make it as far as Lacunosa how we are now. We could always try making it to a nearby town and try stealing medicine from a Pokémon Center or something, but I doubt that'd end well. If we beg maybe we can get some decent food?"

"Me? Beg? Try again."

"Right… Dignity, or whatever. All of the dragons I've ever met are way too proud for their own good."

"Better believe it."

"In any case, we need to get out of the open. Jake's gonna be moving a lot faster than us, and he knows exactly where we are. He'll catch up with us in less than an hour if we don't do something."

Misa turned away, starting to walk again. I reluctantly followed, despising my own words. Would a few more seconds of rest have hurt?

"What, then, do we just find a place where he can't find us?"

"Go where there's no signal? Yeah, that'd be the best option, but we'd have to figure out where…"

My head darted upwards as a flourish of movement distracted me. Misa stopped and peered at me oddly.

"What's up with you? They're just birds."

"Yeah…"

I thought for a moment on the idea to sprout in my head. What were the odds that Mew and my team hadn't been captured? If they were still looking for me, they'd want me to stay in the forest, nearby.

But, Misa's Pokéball complicated things. Drayden had rightfully not fitted her old one with a failsafe mechanism to stop it from breaking. The old man knew how to plan ahead, I could give him that much. Either way, without a suitable way to destroy her new ball, we were stuck running from her 'trainer'.

It meant we couldn't stay in the forest. That Mienfoo was crazy, and I doubted the Blitzle was a pushover in an actual fight.

"Okay. We're flying out of here."

"What?"

"You heard me," I said, taking the initiative to start walking again, leading the way. "We find a flying-type that's friendly enough to take us far, far away from here. Maybe even as far as Lacunosa, but we need to find something to break this ball."

"Uh, yeah… I thought you wanted to stay in the forest in case your friends came back, though?"

"That's another thing. We're getting nowhere close to my friends if Jake catches up to us. Either way, after we get your ball destroyed, we can find a television, or go to a place that has one. Since Alder's the Champion and the League is connected to everything, including the media, it could just hint at where everyone might be, or whether or not they escaped."

"Ok, sure, but then you turn that back around on us. If Alder's using the telebox things to tell all the humans to help and find us, since, y'know, we're on the run and everything, wouldn't we be part of that? He's looking for us too, ain't he? If we go into a human city, someone's bound to recognize us, right?"

I sighed. Once again, I hadn't exactly thought that far.

"Let's worry about that later. If it comes down to it, at least I can be kinda sneaky, but I don't like the idea of splitting up… Whatever. Right now, though, we should try and find a flying-type that'd carry us."

"And how do we do that?"

"Uh… Ask around and hope for the best? How different can it be than just hitchhiking? I've done that before…"

Misa rolled her eyes and pushed ahead of me.

"You'd better be ready to run, then, cuz we gotta find someone fast."

I sneezed again. I really didn't feel like running. It wasn't as if I could just let her go ahead on her own, however.

I begrudgingly followed, limping every other stride because of the fatigue in my muscles and the dull pain I still felt from where I'd scraped my paw the previous night. I coughed a few times, but willed myself to try and keep up with the Axew as best I could.

I quickly realized, however, that such an endeavor was pointless. Unless we were to miraculously stumble upon a town in which we could eat and hide, I couldn't see any way we would be able to find a flying-type capable of carrying-

"Hey shrimp, look at this!"

Misa was about a dozen strides ahead, stopped and staring at me with excitement in her eyes. I made the final push to where she stood, letting my head hang as my legs gave out from under me. We'd only been running for five minutes, and yet I was completely exhausted.

"Look!"

I opened my eyes long enough to see what was in the clearing. We were on the edge of the treeline, looking downhill at what appeared to be a street. I blinked a few times, slowly processing what it meant before a car sped by, snapping me out of my stupor.

"Okay…"

"Isn't this good? We can just grab a ride with one of these guys, right? Hey! Hey!"

Misa began waving and walking down the hill towards the road. I stopped her before she got far with a simple, "Wait."

"What? What's the big deal?"

"We can't just go stand in the road… But, if I were to… No, that's stupid."

"What's stupid? Any idea's a good idea right now, kid."

I thought to myself for a moment. My head hurt, but I'd been able to use Illusions most of last night. I wondered if pushing myself just a little bit harder would do harm. My core was now probably fully healed, right? Because of my regeneration rate due to Mew's latent energy? I guess… This headache, though. I could hardly even move to boot.

"Hm?"

"If you can find an Oran or Sitrus bush in the next ten minutes and get back here with a Berry or two, do it. I need the energy."

"Uh, okay then…"

Misa thankfully did as she was asked without further questions, allowing me time to simply sit and rest. I closed my eyes, clearing my mind. I was to make a visual Illusion, but just enough to induce confusion. It didn't have to be incredibly realistic, but if I was to have any effect, I needed my mind as sharp as I could get it.

Misa returned within three minute's time, cradling in her arms three Oran Berries. In addition, the area around her mouth was stained blue with juice.

 _Good thinking ahead, I guess… I'll probably only need like one and a half to get the job done, but we haven't eaten since last night. What is it now, close to midday?_

I quietly thanked her and went to work, scarfing down my first Berry in a matter of seconds. I took a few bites into the second one, nodding my head thereafter.

"Save them. We're gonna be hungry later, and who knows when we'll next find food?"

Misa nodded, prompting me to face towards the road. I beckoned her forward as I stood, crouched low to the ground as to avoid detection. She had a sort of natural camouflage, the blue of the Orans being the only thing to stand out amongst the grass.

Thankfully, the grass itself was rather tall here, meaning I could simply crouch down in an area about four feet from where the asphalt began and avoid detection entirely. I could smell the rubber of the tires on the cars that passed, the fumes from their exhausts… The currents of air to follow each vehicle blew my ears to the side.

I took a peek out of my shelter and scouted further down the road. There! A black pickup truck, perhaps a quarter mile down. What's more, there was a considerable gap between it and the next car in front of it. Perfect. It would be upon us in thirty seconds or less.

"Misa, see that black car way down there? I need you to tap my back as soon as the car _in front_ of that one passes us."

"Wh-"

"Just do it!"

Fifteen seconds. I closed my eyes and concentrated, envisioning, imagining. I'd learned that the process of connection didn't have to be entirely thought through. As long as I shot a string of energy with considerable power behind it, it would almost always find a target in the general area.

I felt it connect, prompting me to immediately feed it as much energy as I could. I could feel the Oran Berries helping me in this regard, by the time five more seconds had passed my connection was ready for use.

I thought hard once more about what I wanted the driver to see. Saw it in my mind's eye. Every little detail, at least as far as I could remember. It certainly wasn't perfect, but I assumed it would get the job done. I thought of its movements, how it jumped, how it breathed.

It was alive.

Misa's tap felt more like a slug to the thigh, but I didn't lose sight of what I wanted nonetheless. My eyes shot open, and I forced the image through.

I didn't have the time, the energy, nor the mental capacity at the time to envision my sloppy Illusionary Sawsbuck bursting from the treeline. Instead, it simply materialized on the side of the road, jumping awkwardly and unnaturally into the street and directly in front of the truck.

I nearly leapt for joy as the truck came to a screeching halt. No cars seemed to be in sight behind it, meaning it was time to go.

I let the Sawsbuck disappear out of existence entirely. I myself couldn't see my own Illusions, but I knew it had accomplished what I wanted out of it, even if I knew it to be less-than-perfect. Misa was quick to catch on and follow as I darted from our hiding place, keeping low to the ground until I came to rest near the rear license plate of the truck.

"Go!" I whispered desperately, ducking down to try and get a glimpse of the driver's position from below the car.

Misa complied, taking care to be as quiet as possible as she climbed on the bumper and hopped the tailgate, landing in the bed of the truck with a quiet thump. I waited for a moment to see if the driver had noticed.

It appeared he'd gotten out of his car and was checking around the hood for the Sawsbuck that'd vanished into thin air. The Illusion had been enough, thank the gods.

Sizing up the tailgate, I followed in Misa's footsteps, jumping on the thin bumper. My physique caused for an imbalance, however, and I began to slip back off.

One of my front paws were grabbed as I lost any semblance of grip I had. Thankful, I allowed Misa to take hold of me and assist as I finally cleared the tailgate. We quickly traversed the bed and ended up leaning against the outer wall of the cabin, where the human wouldn't be able to see us in his mirrors. Safe, I went completely limp next to Misa as she settled, panting.

"Wow…" I chuckled quietly to myself… "I… I did a real Illusion… Like, a _real real_ one. On my own"

I hardly counted what I'd done in the caves as worthy of praise. I hadn't been using my own energy, but instead a limitless power supply that was as dangerous as it was powerful. This, however. This was entirely my doing, and the human driving the vehicle didn't seem to suspect a thing.

It made me feel warm inside. Happy, in a way. Despite my exhaustion, I felt as if I could climb a mountain in that moment. I laughed again, speechless.

Misa smiling from cheek to cheek, shared much of this sentiment, and for the first time I felt great satisfaction as she proceeded to roughly tousle the bit of fur atop my head in praise.

As cars came to line up behind the truck and begin honking, the confused human got back in the driver's seat and continued on down the road. I myself quickly began to feel the fatigue of physical and energetical exertion in my sickness. I knew what was coming, and curled up to the best of my ability next to Misa before passing out altogether.

* * *

The main flap to the tent began to unzip, leaving a lonely Seraph to raise her head in question.

Light beamed through, prompting her to squint. Skipp had made an opening large enough for him to clumsily step through before spinning around and using his free hand to close the zipper behind him.

"Hi."

"Hey."

Seraph lifted her head until her posture was something only slightly less than normal. One look showed that she wasn't in the best of shape. It seemed as if she hadn't preened her feathers for days, and her eyes were seemingly permanently glazed over.

Skipp smiled at the sight of her despite her appearance. It seemed her mood was improving.

"How's your eye?" Seraph asked quietly before lowering her head back down, inviting Skipp to approach.

"Getting used to it, I think," Skipp replied, reaching up with a claw to lightly touch where his natural visor had been damaged in his fight versus Crag. As far as he was aware, the regeneration rate of the nerveless, plastic-like material was incredibly slow. He'd never sustained an injury such as this, and Drayden himself had told him that it wouldn't be a surprise if it took months, or even a year to fully heal.

"Kinda cool-lookin' though, huh?" he continued, turning on a single foot and plopping himself down next to Seraph. "Like I'm some sort of badass. Heh… Either way, Brought you something."

Seraph looked over to what the Flygon was holding. His entire left arm was stuck against his torso, holding what looked to be at least a dozen Pinap Berries.

"Can't remember the last time you ate," he admitted, laying out a few in front of the dragoness. "Had to fly basically to the center of the island for these things, but I knew you liked them, so…"

Skipp chuckled despite himself, hoping to lighten the mood. He was quick to find his attempts were failing. Seraph's eyes quickly glazed back over.

"Hey…"

No response whatsoever. It was as if Seraph hadn't even heard him.

"I'm sorry…" Skipp said, lowering his gaze. "I… I know how hard it must be to… Y'know. Worse than it is for me."

He could hear Seraph's shallow breathing. She was struggling to keep her composure.

"But Seraph, it really hurts me to see you like this. I know it's hard, but please… Just please at least come and tell Drayden you're okay?"

No response again.

"At least eat? Please?"

"I thought that was our chance."

Skipp raised his head as he got a response, however vague. He remained silent, begging Seraph to continue.

She sighed. "You know how hard we tried just to… To…"

"Oh… Yeah, back when we wanted our own eggs…"

Seraph nodded, grateful she didn't have to say it herself.

"The nurse back in Opelucid just told me it was how I was born, but even then it was what I hated most about myself. The fact I can't even function properly and bring us the one thing we wanted more than anything."

"But then Misa and No-"

"Ray. Not Nox, never Nox. Gods, I thought they were our chance. That despite everything happening around those hatchlings, they were the gods' gift to us. But it was just a joke. Nothing more than a joke."

Skipp saw a few tears roll down her face. Her gaze was still downwards, obscured in the dimness of the lighting around them.

"Just when I'm stupid enough to think there's hope for us, I realize we're being used. I… I _loved_ them, Skipp, and what do I get for it? Nothing. Nothing! Nothing, nothing, nothing!"

Skipp looked around, praying nobody heard Seraph's outburst. The last thing they needed was for someone to intrude. He was quick to sigh, however, turning back towards Seraph and leaning his weight on her flank as she breathed heavily.

"I know…"

"And the worst part?! I can't stop thinking about them! Wondering if they're okay… If they're eating enough, if they're safe. I want to hate them, but everything we had together felt so real. Even if it was all an act, it felt so, so real, and even when I know it's fake I can't get over them!"

"They were scared. It doesn't justify anything they did, not at all, but we have to try and not dwell, yeah? What's important is that they're found and brought here with everyone else. Even if they-"

Skipp paused, scratching his head for a moment. He wanted to choose his next words carefully.

"Look, I'm not trying to say I forgive them… Or don't forgive Ray, at the very least. This has been so hard on all of us, you especially and I… I really can't stand seeing you alone like this."

A silence hung over the pair for a few moments. Seraph's eyes shot downwards again.

"Either way, I saw that look Ray gave you back in the caves. And how he stood up to Mew for us? Trust me, I'll be the first to let him know how twisted he was by doing this to us, but he cares about you too, Seraph. Even if he doesn't want to, or even if Misa doesn't want to. They care. And I do too… About them, and about you, and…"

No response. Skipp groaned at his own lack of eloquence.

"I don't know how to say it, but I think I feel the same way as you. Kinda. Like, if something were to happen to them, I would feel so guilty I wouldn't know what to do with myself. Just thinking about it puts a pit in my stomach."

Another silence. Seraph had since closed her eyes.

"But I think there's always a time and a place to be angry, to get mad, you know? You just _know it_ when that time comes, but being down like this isn't going to change anything in the now. I know I'm sounding a lot more mean than I'm trying to be when I say it, but we have to keep pushing on. Drayden's been having a lot of problems now that his energy's gone, and he's worried about you too, y'know?"

"I just need a little time, Skipp."

"No, no, I get it. I'm just saying that I think both of us will feel a lot better if we try tackling this together, huh?"

"Maybe…"

"Good enough for me," Skipp said, starting to stand up. "Take your time, and know we're here for each other, 'kay? I'm usually right outside if you wanna talk things over."

"Right…"

"And hey, when this all eventually blows over, who's to say we can't try again for our own hatchlings? Just because it didn't work in the past doesn't mean the future's set in stone, right? If anything, this whole ordeal with those two showed me just how much we're missing out on."

Seraph didn't respond, the thought of hatchlings once again rekindling an image of Misa and Ray.

"Food for thought," Skipp concluded, taking steps towards the entrance of the tent. "In any case, enjoy the Berries, I guess. Hope they make you feel a bit better."

"Skipp?"

"Hm?"

The Flygon turned back around, eyes curiously surveying the still-prone Seraph.

"How are you able to move on so quickly after this? It almost sounds like you don't care."

Skipp smiled nervously, eyes glazing over for a fraction of a second.

"I think I'm just a better actor than you guys think I am. The first seconds I get alone are… Well, destructive is a word."

Seraph tilted her head, confused.

"A-anyways, hope to see you tonight, huh?"

* * *

I woke up suspended in the air, eyes shooting open promptly before I slammed into the ground. I could hear Misa let out a frightened croak over the whipping winds.

Allowing my heart some time to calm down, I took a few moments to remember where we were. The bed of the truck. This thought compelled me to press up against the wall connecting the cabin to minimize the risk of the driver spotting me in his mirror.

"Glad you finally decided to wake up!" Misa yelled sarcastically in a whisper. "This guy just won't stop!"

"How long was I out?" I asked, taking a look around.

"I don't know! Like, four, five hours? This guy just keeps going, and going, and going, all in this metal death trap! Look how fast we're going!"

"That's the point," I shot back. Trees surrounded either side of what appeared to be a much larger highway than the one we'd found the truck on initially. The wind whipped through my fur and blew back my ears as I tried standing with the intention of finding a street sign. I noticed, however, that other cars driving nearby were in full view of me, prompting me to duck my head. The last thing we needed was the police pulling the truck over for illegally carrying passengers in the bed.

"Okay, if he's been going for this long he's bound to stop for gas at some point. We can figure out where we are after that. Maybe… Probably."

I could only hope he wouldn't stop in an industrialized area. I was arguably feeling even worse than before, and I couldn't possibly think of using my Illusions to get both Misa and I out of the truck without avoiding detection. All we could do was hope there be a wooded area nearby we could escape to.

"Save any Oran for me?"

"Uh, yeah," Misa responded, nodding with her head towards her side of the truck bed. She was glued to the back wall, unwilling to grab any for me herself.

I crept over towards her and bent my head down to take a few bites out of one of the Berries there. It was dry.

"I can't wait until we actually find a place to crash," I muttered, laying back down to preserve what little strength I had left.

"Think we're far enough away from the trainer?" Misa asked.

"Probably," I responded. "I doubt he would go so far out of his way as to chase us both all the way here… Wherever we are."

"And then?"

"And then what?"

"We go, escape, and find a way to break this damn ball. Cool. What then?"

"I don't know! Quit asking me that stuff! I can't think too far ahead right now cuz there's a billion things that could go wrong at any given time."

I slid across the bed of the truck as we began to decelerate rapidly. I took a quick peek over the side to see what was going on.

"He's getting off the highway," I said, keeping my voice down to a whisper now that the wind was all but gone. "We need to bail. As soon as he stops, we bail."

"What? Are you nuts?!"

"There's a treeline on our right. We go straight for it and keep our heads down until we're sure the coast is clear. Cool?"

"Ray, that plan's retarded!"

"Misa, come o-"

"You can't run, can you? What if the humans see us getting out and start chasing us? I heard what that trainer kid said, we're rare species! Like, that means people want to catch us, right?"

We kept slowing. There had to have been a stoplight ahead.

"Not everybody carries Pokéballs on them, and you're already captured, genius! I can take care of myself."

My muscles screamed at me as I stood.

"Grab the Orans. Five seconds."

Misa, looked towards the sky and groaned.

"Misa, come on!"

"Fine! Fine, jeez. Never take any of my ideas, huh? Just the stupid Axew that's along for the ride!"

"Grab the Orans and talk later!"

"Easy for you to say! I gotta carry the ball too, dipshit! Maybe if you'd given me a second or two to actually prep for your suicide run, but no!"

"I swear on all the gods, Misa! Screw this up for me and I'm not afraid to get my entire team, Mew included, to kick your sorry little ass!"

I cared little for the harshness I was presenting, nor did I care for the fact I was screaming at this point. I felt myself subconsciously growling at the thought of having to put up with her constant stubbornness through my headache. My muscles burned with each, tiny movement I forced them through. I was at the point of clawing my own ears out if it meant I didn't have to hear another word of what she had to say.

It wasn't until much later I realized I was equally the aggressor. Even if I hadn't been blinded by the discomfort of fatigue and sickness, however, I admittedly wouldn't have given an inch.

"You know what?! Screw this! I'm tired of taking the backseat, tired of being threatened just so I do what you want. Your plan is stupid, Ray! We _need_ to wait!"

Misa threw down everything she'd since gathered, leaving me to turn towards her with narrowed eyes. I could feel my lip curling involuntarily.

 _Ray, you idiot! Stop being aggressive about it! We need her!_

"Whether you like it or not, I'm making the decision here," Misa continued, she said, sitting herself back down. If the driver hadn't previously heard our yelling, he definitely heard Misa as her rump hit the metal with a boom. "We're waiting until there's enough cover to hide, rather than run out in the open like idiots!"

I ignored my thoughts, stalking forward aggressively despite my body's protests. I quickly snapped out of it, however, as I heard the driver-side door open. Misa didn't notice.

In a quick burst, I dove to the side, pushing past the surprised Axew to grab her shrunken ball in my mouth. She pushed me to the side and off my feet.

At the first opportunity, however, I scrambled to my feet and rocketed out of the truck bed, landing sloppily and painfully on the grass to the side of the road. I could hear the driver's surprised yell and Misa's subsequent squeak.

I'd left her behind, albeit, thankfully, with her Pokéball still situated between my front teeth. I sprinted as fast as my body would carry me into the forest nearby, fueled only on adrenaline and fear. I could hear Misa struggling and calling out in the background, but I didn't dare turn around.

Perhaps a full minute had passed before I realized I couldn't hear her anymore. I was much too far away now, breath coming in short, fast gulps.

Thinking quickly, I ducked inside a nearby bush and made entirely sure I hadn't been followed. Thirty seconds passed. Misa hadn't come with.

Grunting angrily, I laid out her ball before me, trapping it between my front paws so I could press the center button with my nose. It was quick to grow to its normal size, prompting me to press the button once more.

The top of the ball flew open, and a few seconds passed before I felt a sort of reluctant relief in seeing the flow of red energy pour in.

I let my breathing calm for a few seconds after the ball closed, thinking to myself.

 _My body's not going anywhere. I know Misa well enough to know she's gonna beat my ass as soon as I let her out of this ball, and I can't run away or fight back. We don't have the Orans now, either, thanks to Miss 'Too Good For Plans'._

I was quickly brought out of my thoughts, however, as I could hear distant voices, the crinkle of leaves underfoot as people began approaching.

I let my body do its work as I _smelled the air_. I didn't know when I'd picked up that trick, but I could smell faint traces of oil and BO.

 _Humans. Shit! They're following me! Did they really follow me?_

I tried getting myself further under the bush, but the plant wasn't giving any headway. I would have to stand and push, but I could feel the adrenaline had already left my system. I wasn't going anywhere.

Before I had proper time to formulate a plan, however, I could feel my heart quicken as the humans I heard came into view. It was a girl and what seemed to be her father, looking around attentively. The girl herself couldn't have been older than ten, and the father evidently didn't have any Pokémon on him if his suit was any indication.

In the girl's hand, however, was a single Pokéball.

 _Beginner. I don't see any other balls on her belt. Saw me running into the woods and wants me to be her first addition? Shit, what do I do?_

I eyed my surroundings. I couldn't fully hide my body under the bush, and in the direction they were going, the humans were undoubtedly going to see me.

I exhaled sharply, trying to calm my breath. I made a moment's decision, once more pressing the button on Misa's Pokéball without giving myself time to rethink what I was doing.

"You got a lot of nerve you little sack of shi-"

"SHHHHH!"

Misa shut up, but not before I could see the little girl's eyes light up. She scanned our area for a bit before locking eyes with me.

"Daddy! Daddy! There it is!"

"Great! You know what to do, right?"

"Mhm!"

I could feel a sense of dread washing over me.

"Misa!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm on it," the Axew responded reluctantly, intentionally kicking dirt in my face as she carelessly turned to face the pair of humans. "Good to know I'm just the muscle."

I elected to bite my tongue before I could shoot her a retort. I couldn't predict Misa's behavior, meaning I had to put aside my pride, even if for a moment, in order to let the Axew find reason to keep helping me.

She took a few steps forward, growling loudly and stamping her foot. The young girl seemed undeterred by the fact she'd seen Misa captured in a Pokéball already.

For a moment, I actually felt confident. It was apparent I'd pissed her off, so maybe in the end it would prove beneficial to have gotten her angry. Through challenging the trainer, she at least proved she was able to direct her anger elsewhere.

Without much further delay, the trainer sent out their Pokémon. As expected, a starter emerged in the form of a Snivy.

"Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait, _that's_ who I'm fighting?" the Snivy instantly complained, turning his back on Misa to look at his trainer pleadingly. "That's a dragon! I can't fight a dragon!"

"You can do it, Snivy!"

Perhaps I was wrong in feeling empathy for the Snivy, especially when I was on the chopping block. Misa, however, held no such reservations.

"Let's get somethin' straight, tiny," Misa roared despite the fact the Snivy almost stood taller than she herself. "I'm your worst nightmare, got it?! If either one of you takes another step forward, I'm lettin' loose a rain of fury all over the both of you!"

"Snivy! Vine whip!"

The opposing grass type looked between his trainer and Misa for a moment before eventually sighing.

"Please don't be too rough," he quickly pleaded before dropping into an awkward battle stance. Just from the looks of it, I myself may have had the potential to beat this opponent if I was at full strength.

All the Snivy was capable of controlling was a single vine, which he used to attack Misa from a distance. After only a single hit had connected, however, she knew well enough to predict and catch the tendril before it could strike again.

The Snivy panicked as Misa began pulling him towards her, unable to retract his vine while it was in her grasp. It was obvious Misa far outmatched him in terms of physical strength, and only a few seconds had passed before he'd tripped over his own feet and was being dragged towards her.

"Come on Snivy! Tackle as it brings you close!"

The Snivy, despite its trainer's wishes, couldn't find a way to get back on its feet. Misa had since charged a claw with energy, and as he got into range, she pounced, pinning his chest with her elbow while using Scratch to whittle down what little stamina he had to begin with.

In the process, however, she left herself open to get smacked in the face with the very same vine she'd just let go, giving the Snivy enough time to scramble away. Misa brought a hand up to her cheek, moving around her jaw. The attack stung, despite the fact she resisted it naturally.

More than anything, however, I could see the anger growing in her expression.

The Snivy, capitalizing on the momentum the attack had just created, charged despite his trainer not having given him a command. He leaped forward, head glowing white with a telegraphed Tackle.

Misa didn't bother dodging, grunting as she took the full force of the attack. After the move, the Snivy tried retreating, its forward momentum not enough to knock Misa over.

"Misa! Quit screwing around! Both of our asses are on the line here!"

The words had just slipped out. For whatever reason, I completely ignored the fact she was undoubtedly furious with me, perhaps even more so than with the unfortunate Snivy. I quickly bit my tongue as she turned slightly to face me out of the corner of her eye.

"I'll deal with you in a sec!" she yelled, spitting. "I'll do whatever I damn well please, and it's good for you to remember that _I'm_ the one in charge here!"

Her hand was twitching.

The Snivy leaped forth again, attacking with both a Tackle and a Vine Whip. The trainer was now completely out of this fight, everything moving too fast for her to keep up.

Misa's arm shot up like a rocket to grab the vine before it could connect, taking yet another Tackle straight to the chest. The Snivy, however, couldn't escape this time, and was too flustered to charge another attack.

Misa yanked on the vine, offsetting the Snivy's balance while bringing her foot up to land a kick straight in his gut. I wasn't even sure whether or not the attack had energy infused; it was entirely possible she was just blowing off steam.

At the very least, it stunned him long enough to where Misa was able to grab onto both of his shoulders, stand on her tiptoes, and let out a roar as loud as one I'd ever heard from her.

As this happened, her body seemed to erupt in royal blue energy, as if her anger had fueled it entirely. The next thing I knew, it had condensed and been expelled as if it were an attack, hitting the Snivy directly and knocking him on the ground.

He didn't get back up.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" Misa continued roaring, stepping over the Snivy's unconscious body to yell and point a finger at both humans. The display she put up, however brief, was enough to prompt the girl to return her fainted Pokémon and take her father's hand as they sped away.

I could hear Misa's rough breathing, see the heaving of her shoulders. Her stance seemed to emulate the exact definition of 'rage'.

Rage… Dragon Rage. She'd learned a new attack!

I could hardly revel in the fact, however, considering she was quick to turn on a heel and begin stamping towards me.

"YOU!"

"Waitwaitwaitwait!" I said, only able to scramble around on the ground as I tried getting away. "Misa, come on! We can talk about this!"

"You _asshole_! When I say something, you better damn well listen. Or have you forgotten who's _who's_ slave around here, huh?!"

She stopped a few feet short of me, charging her fist with energy. I wasn't willing to gamble on its being an intimidation tactic.

"Misa, I'm sorry!" I spouted.

"You saw what happened! Exactly what I told you would happen! We were followed! Followed by a human because your dumbass ran out in the open when I said we should wait! What if that hadn't been a beginner trainer, huh?!"

She got right into my face, labored breath passing through the fur on my nose.

"I know! I know!" I said with the hopes of calming her down. "I made a judgement call, and it was the wrong one. Is that what you want me to say? I was wrong?! Because I was, okay? I was wrong!"

Misa's face contorted into something of a grimace before she pulled away from me, stomping around in circles and yelling at the sky.

"I know what you do! I'm not a dumbass!" she spouted, refusing to stop. "You think I'm the biggest idiot to ever walk this planet, so you just ignore everything I say and come crying for help whenever you need someone to be your muscle! Because you're weak! A coward! You hear me?! A coward!"

I said nothing, desperately trying to stop my body from trembling. Not being able to run away made this all the more terrifying.

Misa growled and brought her hands to her face as she aggressively sat down. She just breathed for a few moments, hopefully in an attempt to calm herself down.

"Things are gonna change, got me? If we're gonna stick together, things _will_ change."

I gulped.

"Got it?"

"Y-yes," I choked out.

"Good. Now come on, dumbass. We're finding a place to rest."

I stayed silent for a few moments as she looked at me expectantly.

"Misa, uh… My legs won't move."

The dragoness rolled her eyes, groaning. Rather than make much more of a scene about it, however, she grabbed either one of my front paws and violently yanked them over her shoulders, effectively wearing me like a cape.

"You _so_ owe me, got it?"

* * *

Orange waves crashed against the cliffside as the sun set, creating a noise that reminded Skyla much of Undella. She hadn't met Ray there, but it was where she'd helped him begin his Pokémon journey. After she had gained custody… She could hardly believe it'd been only six years; he'd grown so much in that time.

The uncertainty of not knowing how he fared now was tearing her apart. Much in the same fashion as that same uncertainty had affected her over the last few years. Ray had virtually stopped all contact following Sierra's death, and despite her best efforts to locate him, he'd almost completely fallen off the grid.

And now she knew. Not how long Ray had known or been associated with Mew, but at least what he'd been burdened with while they'd been out of contact. It was, frankly, a hard hit, and one she hadn't really absorbed, even during all the time she'd spent with Drayden.

She couldn't swallow the fact Mew had taken her nephew and transformed him into nothing more than a pet. Figuratively and, now, seemingly literally. What she knew as the sweet Nox was her nephew, and she simply hadn't the eye to see it.

What had driven him to hide the truth? Did he really hate her? She didn't want to believe it, but the evidence was overwhelming.

" _How're you holding up?_ "

Skyla gasped, turning to watch Somin as he stepped into view. She quickly wiped her eyes with her shirt.

"I'm fine."

" _You don't look it. But whatever, in any case, I brought you something._ "

Skyla just barely reacted in time to grab a cooked leg the Zoroark had tossed in her direction.

" _Bit cold, but Pidgey never fails to fill you up, at the very least._ "

"Just stop."

" _Hm?_ "

"There's so many things you're missing. Let alone the fact the _real_ Somin despises me, he's got a nick at the base of his right ear. It's little imperfections like that which just make whatever _this_ is weirder than it needs to be."

The Zoroark shrugged, face neutral. " _Guess so._ "

A flash of pink light later, Somin no longer existed. Left in his place, and floating just a foot above the ground was Mew.

" _Everyone's just been acting weird around me. I don't know if it's because I killed that Druddigon or if it's just cuz I'm me, but that's just how it's been. Thought it'd be better to come and talk like someone you're not afraid of, y'know?_ "

"I'm not 'everyone', am I?"

" _No, guess not._ "

Skyla turned back towards the clifface, chin in her hands.

"Just tell me what your game is already. Why you're here, talking to me, or why you took me away from Opelucid. Lay it on me."

" _Game?_ "

"That's what all of this is to you, isn't it? A game? Our lives are just _so_ insignificant compared to yours that you find it fun to screw around with our heads? That's why you're up here, isn't it? To screw with me."

Mew was honestly taken aback, and instinctively tried probing Skyla's head for something of use. She stopped herself, however, choosing instead to close her eyes and respond calmly.

" _I've started trying not to spy on other people's heads, so you might wanna… Fill me in on what you think all this is, exactly."_

"Why us, Mew? Of all the people in the world you could've played with, why us?"

Part of Mew wanted to ask Skyla if she recognized who, exactly, she was talking to. It was rare Mew ever got this kind of sass from any interaction.

" _Skyla, if you wanna know the truth, please try to get it out of your head that I'm some sort of crazy, all-powerful being with a bloodlust and a boredom to be satisfied. Just because that's what the human books say about me, it doesn't mean it's true._ "

"Then explain, please, what you think you are," Skyla mumbled, refusing to face Mew.

" _Uh… I don't know? I'm just here… Existing. No bloodlust, just a bit of anger issues and, well… Let's say 'inexperience' with the concept of society._ "

Mew tried flying into Skyla's field of vision, but she simply looked away again.

" _I mean, I've tried mingling with Pokémon before. Hell, I'm the one who created most of them, but for whatever reason… Probably something I do or say. I've even had other humans before, but I just couldn't… Connect._ "

Mew sighed.

" _I want you to understand why I did this. Do you have any idea how lonely thousands upon thousands of years can be? Even if I surround myself with people who adore me, it just sucks. Especially when most of them die because of something stupid I did._ "

"Why then? Why, if not to play around, did you come back and start bothering my nephew?"

" _Because I was forced to. Kinda. Look, when all this stuff started happening with the UPF, we all figured out real quick that we were being picked off one by one. Most decided to lay low, live with humans and hide in plain sight. Many already had companions, so it was as simple as integrating into a more quiet life. This was a few decades ago._ "

" _I was completely opposed to the idea until I met Ray. I was so tired of gaining and losing companions, so I'd just occupied myself by following around random humans, Pokémon, whatever, and hope that they'd do something to entertain me. Ray was a weird case. I first found him after Sierra was killed, and I thought in following him around, he'd loop back around and make an interesting underdog story out of it. That isn't what happened, though._ "

" _After a while, I started growing worried. He just started wandering aimlessly, thoughts filled all day with some of the scariest stuff even I've seen to date. I wanted him to have a happy ending so I could get satisfaction from watching over him, so I started intervening. Whispering encouragement, putting him to sleep when he needed the rest, simple stuff._ "

" _Skyla, I started caring. I didn't want to, and I'm sorry, but it just happened. The way he loved his team, even when he was down in the dumps. It was an admirable quality you don't see much of anymore in this modern world, where Pokémon, my creation, have become nothing more than just_ _ **objects**_ _, tools, even, to satisfy the greed of a single corporation, the League. Everything about the Pokémon League, in every region, is just so twisted. Sending human children off to fend for themselves in the wilderness, their only form of protection being inexperienced, terrified Pokémon. I…_ "

Mew sighed, regaining composure.

" _It was so refreshing seeing an anomaly like Ray. I wanted him to win. I became too invested in him, his life. I even_ _ **showed**_ _myself to him, even if I regretted it instantly afterwards and erased his memory about it._ "

Skyla had since given up trying to keep her gaze off the legendary, letting herself turn to stare at Mew. The fur around her eyes were wet.

" _When Ray killed Jeffrey, I thought it was a great revenge ending to my favorite story. But I couldn't leave after it was over. I was too invested. I told myself I couldn't keep following him, but I did anyways. Kept watching, even if I didn't intervene anymore. All the way until Opelucid, when he was attacked. I saw that security camera footage, all over the Unovan news. I know you saw it. I couldn't help myself. Ray was being attacked, kidnapped, and something in me just snapped. I intervened again._ "

Mew rubbed her eyes for a moment, unaware Skyla had begun watching her.

"So why didn't you just erase his memory again and get on with it?"

" _I was about to. Something about protecting him, though, was so fulfilling. I felt, for the first time in such a long time, that I was actually doing something useful. It didn't take me long, though, to fill in the blanks and realize that this was the same organization that was stealing all my kin. Erasing his memory would only do to leave him without his guard up, and leaving him alone would only make him susceptible. I couldn't leave him. I wouldn't leave him. So I hid him in Lavaridge, where he'd planned on vacationing after beating Drayden's Gym. Hiding in comfort."_

" _I even forcefully eased a bit of his worry about the situation, but that didn't stop the fact that in order to stop him completely from worrying about the 'thing' that'd possessed him, I'd have to erase all memory of the encounter. I didn't want him to feel uneasy anymore, so I tentatively decided to introduce myself. It didn't go well at first, but I realized quickly how much I actually… I loved talking with him. Every word we spoke with one another felt like heaven. It's cheesy, I know, but I remembered how many of my kin had humans to call their own, to help them hide. Ray wasn't exactly a lowkey kind of guy, especially when the very organization I was trying to hide from was actively hunting him, but I ignored my gut. I thought, together, we could muster up the strength to defend ourselves no matter what situation we found ourselves in. How naive… I really did underestimate the logistical potential of the UPF, and I paid for it in the form of Ray's life. And his trust._ "

Mew had since stopped levitating, and now sat on a rock near Skyla. She looked out over the ocean as she held her face in her paws.

" _Skyla, I'm so, so, so, sorry. I still can't forgive myself for what I had to do to keep Ray alive. My own stupidity is the only reason any of you are even in this mess._ _ **Everything**_ _I've done up until this point has just been a simple, wrong decision. The decision not to trust you, the decision to keep Ray away from the truth of it all, the decision to give him my energy, the decision to even follow him in the first place!_ "

Skyla didn't know what to say.

"Mew?"

" _And now?! Oh, with everything I just went and saw. It's such a mess! Everything's just a mess!_ "

The legendary was crying into the crook of her arm, speaking to herself in hushed tones using her natural voice.

Skyla tentatively reached out an arm, unsure of how to feel at the sight of a god's tiny form, heaving with quiet sobs.

As soon as her skin touched Mew's shoulder, however, Skyla was no longer on the seaside cliff.

Images flashed in her vision so quickly she wasn't sure what to make of half of them. The image of a Zorua, smiling exhaustedly as he stood in the snow. The image of that same Zorua, blood pooled around him as human hands tried carrying him to safety.

The vision of millions of corpses, standing upright with soulless eyes. Giratina's silhouette, red eyes standing out amongst the yellow lights of a city.

Ray's entire team, huddled around their human, who was holding Mew in his arms like she was a small child. All smiling for the camera.

Palkia, huddled over a pile of rocks.

Ho-Oh.

Regigigas.

Darkrai.

Zekrom.

Manaphy.

Victini.

Giratina.

Jirachi.

All of them standing in at attention in a line, soulless eyes gazing directly at Skyla.

Alder standing before them with a wide smile.

Arceus' silhouette in the background, all-encompassing.

Skyla yelled as she snapped out of the vision, panting heavily afterwards. Mew shot back, instantly on guard and with a terrified expression.

"W-what…"

Skyla could see Mew's eyes widen for half a second before she teleported far, far away.

* * *

 **Feel relatively neutral about this chapter. I've been planning Mew's motivation since just after I began writing the story a few years ago, and finally putting it into words made me realize how it has potential to be a decent side-story on its own. Though, I'm pretty sure that when I finish with this fic, it's gonna be done for good. One or two shootoffs at the very most, all of which can be contained in a rather long oneshot.**

 **I'm excited to finally be able to write Misa and Ray's relationship away from all threats of captivity or otherwise. I felt like I've been confined in their characterization up until this point, and now I can finally feel free to progress them to an extent I haven't been able to achieve as of yet.**

 **That's basically it. As always, please review if you can; it really helps me out in the long run. See you in a few weeks!**


	27. Power Gap

**l**

 **Chapter XXVI - Power Gap**

* * *

Vita snuck carefully through the woods, hoping to keep her head down but eyes attentive. She called out Ray's name only when she made absolutely sure the coast was clear of any potential threats.

Mew had seemed out of mind when she offered to bring Vita, Somin, and Victor to another search in the forest surrounding Opelucid. After Vita's pressure, Somin had spent much of the day reluctantly searching for Mew with the intention of having a candid conversation. However, she had only reappeared just after sunset, obviously troubled by something.

Perhaps the gravity of the situation had finally caught up with her. If anything, she seemed even more adamant about remaining secretive, driving caution into the minds of both Vita and Victor before they went their own separate ways. After some more silent pressure, Somin elected to search with Mew. If the prospect was surprising to the legendary in any way, however, any outward reaction was lost in the contemplative silence to ensue.

Vita figured personal relationships, especially those with a creature as erratic and spontaneous as Somin, were the last things on Mew's mind.

Either way, she hadn't let Mew's message of caution be lost on her. Drayden's Gym, even though it had now been a full 24 hours after the fact, was still most likely a hotspot for activity. No chances needed taking.

She paused for a moment, flitting out her tongue to taste the air. Any scent that wasn't immediately discredited as some sort of rodent was too stale to track. Vita felt a scowl cross her face. Hunger and the promise of prey nearby weren't helping her mood.

She'd been feeling her composure regarding the situation start to deteriorate. She felt obligated to set the example of civility on Ray's team, but Mew's presence, both directly and indirectly, had tugged every which way the core foundation that was the team. One obstacle after another, each seemingly only pushing Vita away from Ray.

Even though the team had been trained extensively to operate independently if need be, she felt she needed her human just as much as he needed her.

With each passing moment she was growing more desperate. Another minute passed was another moment he could've been captured, killed, or worse. She surveyed her surroundings again in the hopes of picking up something she hadn't before.

 _Wait… Is that…?_

There seemed to be a break in the trees, too noticeable to likely be natural. She approached cautiously.

It turned out the lack of tree cover was simply a dropoff. The gradient got considerably more steep, boulders littering the landscape instead of trees or shrubbery.

Yet, something at the bottom of the hill before Vita got her attention.

It was a trainer trail, snaking out from the trees and running alongside the wall of boulders for a moment before disappearing back into the forest. The official trainer trail in the region was easily identifiable through the makers' frequent use of the league's logo, decaled here on a tree trunk in plain view.

Vita tried placing where she was based on this newfound landmark, but quickly realized it would do her better to just leave it be. The closer one got to civilization, the more congested the trail would undoubtedly be. Trainers used it as a simple means to get from city to city without having to worry much about navigation, but it often intersected with local trails. There would undoubtedly be some hiker, trainer, or otherwise passing through sometime soon.

It was a rare sight to see a fully-evolved Starter Pokémon, let alone one without an accompanying trainer. It was likely everyone in the nation knew of Ray's likeness, including his team, acquaintances, and more. Any Unovan citizen at this point would be in remiss to not report her presence if they so much as caught a glimpse of her, a Serperior suspiciously without an apparent trainer.

As she was turning to leave, however, she heard the distant sounds of something approaching. She honed her senses in on the distant snapping of twigs, a quiet voice talking to what sounded like himself. She wasn't able to pick up on any words.

Rather than leave, she pressed herself against the ground in such a way as to blend with the grass to an uncareful or distant eye.

After perhaps a half minute of waiting, a young boy stepped from the trees, continuing along the path. He was muttering to himself frustratedly, eyebrows furled.

He seemed to be alone with the exception of the Pokéballs on his belt. Vita counted three.

It was obvious the boy was a novice trainer, from his messily-made pack to the lack of wear of the Pokémon on his belt. Even then, though, Vita decided to exercise caution. Oftentimes, a parent would give their child one of their stronger Pokémon in order to defend themselves on the trail, and even to give them an edge when just starting to battle.

She was just about to turn and sneak away quietly when she froze, having heard a single word that set off alarms in her head.

"-g Axew just had to go and steal the ball, too. What if I see something good? All my balls, gone!"

 _Axew…_

If Ray and Misa had, in fact, gotten away from the UPF, they would be near defenseless out in the wilderness. Had a trainer stumbled upon them?

Vita knew she had to follow this boy, see if she could hear more regarding his potential interaction with Ray or Misa. As he was about to pass back under the treetops, however, she was able to pick up a single word among a string of unintelligible muttering.

"Zorua."

A chill ran down Vita's spine with the boy's words. In a matter of moments, all caution she'd practiced until that moment disappeared. The possibility of Ray being in one of those Pokéballs was too strong to simply ignore the boy further.

By the time he had time to react, the trainer was already off the ground, each of his four limbs tightly bound by Vita's vines. The boy started yelling, continuing to do so as he was hoisted up. The weight of his pack was heavy, though it hardly slowed Vita. Within a matter of seconds, he was on her level, yelling 'stop', 'hey', and 'no' among pleas.

When he found and focused on _who_ his captor was, however, he promptly shut his mouth.

Vita's eyes were practically glowing, brows narrowed and fangs bared. The trainer could feel his muscles locking into place, his blood frozen from the sheer intensity of her gaze.

Little to no thought fueled her movements as the boy began stuttering fearfully. She unwrapped the vines holding his arms one at a time in order to slide off the boy's pack. In a quick burst of movement, however, the boy reached for the Pokénav on his belt. He'd be able to call for emergency assistance if he could just repeatedly spam the power button.

Vita was faster, however, recognizing his intentions and almost instantaneously conjuring a weak Magical Leaf attack in order to hinder his movement until she could restrain him again. As extra insurance, Vita used her free vine to grab the Pokénav before slamming it against the ground as hard as she could. Afterwards, she chucked it off the cliff to disappear in the trees beyond.

The boy recoiled, the Magical Leaf having left him with multiple shallow cuts. After a few seconds of watching with horror as Vita broke his only connection with the outside world, he tried something else. Despite the pain flaring up from his forearm, he took advantage of Vita's preoccupation and grabbed a random Pokéball from his belt, pressing the button almost instantly.

Vita had to admire the boy's tenacity. For all he knew, she was a predator preying on an easy target. He only seemed deterred by her glare for only as long as she kept it on him, which would have been impressive even for a fully grown creature. She was attacking a child. Even if he'd come into contact with Ray, was it wrong to go about the situation aggressively?

She could ponder later. Finally choosing to exercise caution, she let the boy go entirely and shot back before his Pokémon could fully materialize. The odds of it being powerful were low, but she couldn't risk even the possibility of her being caught off guard. Losing a fight meant capture.

She coiled herself into a ready stance as the light of the Pokéball took shape.

Her caution was instantly ruled useless, Vita slowly let herself come off her guard as a quaking Blitzle was what was left behind. The smaller creature eyed Vita fearfully.

"W-Why would you release me?!" the Blitzle called out to her trainer, astonished. "Are you crazy?!"

The boy ignored his Pokémon's protests, breaths shaky as he slowly examined his injured arm. Swallowing whatever fear he could, he used his good arm to detach both of the other Pokéballs on his belt.

The resulting Mienfoo and Tepig were of obviously contrasting personalities. While still visibly nervous, like the Blitzle, the Mienfoo seemed to understand more regarding the situation and prepared itself to fight nonetheless. The Tepig, however, showed no fear, turning towards his Blitzle companion with wide eyes.

"Is this a fight? Are we fighting?"

"No! You think we can fight that thing?! Jake's gone mental!"

"Oh…" the Tepig responded, ears falling. They were quick to perk back up, however. "Hey, big Serperior! Are you gonna be part of our te-"

"Would you shut up?" the Mienfoo snapped, refusing to take her eyes off of Vita. "Didn't you see anything that happened? This thing's gonna eat us if we don't at least ward it off."

"Eat us?" the Tepig responded, confused.

"Mienfoo?" the Blitzle asked before the Tepig could follow up with his question. "Look, I know I said I want to try and trust Jake, I really do, but this… You know what to do, right? It's a Serperior. They don't exist in the wild, so it's trained or was trained at some point. That might mean it doesn't necessarily want to eat us, but I don't want to risk anything right now."

The human trainer was silent despite all the conversation amongst his team. He was staring at Vita with a sort of pleading glance. As much as he wanted to believe he could win, this wasn't a simple trainer battle.

"Serperior!" the Mienfoo called out, refusing to leave its battle stance. "Can you understand me?"

Vita certainly didn't feel like chatting for long. However, seeing as Somin wasn't around, the only way she could effectively learn about Ray's whereabouts were through using one of the boy's Pokémon.

"Yes, I can understand you."

A wave of relief washed over the Blitzle's face.

"You're a trained 'mon, then?"

"... No."

"Okay… What do you want? Our… person… was just minding his own business. We can work something out, can't we?"

Vita noticed the Mienfoo's lack of desire to say the human was her trainer.

"G-guys?" the human piped up after a long period of silence. He was still staring at Vita incredulously.

"I want to know about a certain pair of Pokémon you may have come into contact with recently."

The Mienfoo's eyes lit up as Vita mentioned Ray and Misa. She knew!

"Guys?"

"What about them?"

"Mienfoo!"

"What? It's obvious someone's looking for those two brats, and it's no skin off my back by giving them up if it means getting out of here."

"What if they were running away from this Serperior?"

"So? We don't even know them! What happens to them matters nothing to me!"

"Wait, are you guys talking about Nox and Misa?"

"You've seen them."

"GUYS!"

All eyes were suddenly on the human, Jake, as he fearfully raised a finger towards Vita.

"T-the alert that w-went out this morning… Th-the explosion y-yesterday. There's a S-Serperior on Ray Altston's t-team…"

"Where are they?" Vita asked, hoping to coax an answer out of the Mienfoo before the realization fully hit.

"R-Ray Alston?!" the Blitzle choked out.

"Where. Is. Nox."

Vita advanced, casting a long shadow over all four opponents. She cared little at the moment for their knowledge of her identity.

"We can't win…" Jake whispered to himself. "Arceus, please."

Even the Tepig was visually affected by the news, ears flat as he ducked in a sort of submissive pose.

"Stay back," the Mienfoo cautioned as Vita grew ever closer, her voice cracking with even the simple command. "I don't care if you're _that_ Serperior, I'll-"

A single vine snaked along the ground towards the Mienfoo, threatening her with its mere presence. It was then she made the mistake of looking up at Vita's looming figure. Whether the Serperior even bothered using the move Glare in order to paralyze her, she was nonetheless powerless to back away.

"Y-You broke the Pokénav!" the Mienfoo exclaimed, attitude quick to change from something of bravery to a quivering mess before Vita even had the opportunity to move her face in closer. "The location, the location of the Zorua and Axew, it was on the Pokénav you broke!"

Vita's brow raised as she internally cursed her hastiness in smashing the device.

"The kid could only catch the Axew, he couldn't catch the Zorua!" she yelled pleadingly. "Even then, we took care of them! We gave both of them food, a fire, and a place to sleep, and when they… disappeared when we woke up this morning, we started following the Pokénav to track the Axew's Pokéball to see where they were going! That's it!"

Vita could feel her fangs subconsciously baring, prompting the Mienfoo's eyes to widen further. Each of the bystanders up until that point had been simply looking on the exchange with shock. However, Vita's maw widening only slightly, her tongue flitting out in annoyance, was enough to spur a random burst of action from the individual each of the Pokémon least expected.

Jake, in one swift motion, jumped into the fray, sending his Tepig and Blitzle scrambling off to the sides. While Vita had been transfixed on the Mienfoo, he been slowly fiddling with his pack. He could only hope his efforts paid off now, when the situation seemed most perilous.

The Mienfoo had no awareness of Jake's motions until a stream of concentrated, white gas shot over her head and hit the unprepared Vita straight on the nose. Instantly she knew what it was, despite having never been exposed to the substance before.

She recoiled with a hiss, writhing violently as the Pokémace forced her eyelids shut. Covering his mouth with his injured arm, Jake took his uninjured arm and swiped up his stunned Mienfoo, turning back around so violently as to completely tear her off her feet.

Vita couldn't breathe. It felt as if hot stench of chemicals was everywhere, choking her. She couldn't see, couldn't hear anything over her own involuntary hisses.

By then, Jake had scooped up all his team's Pokéballs, returning his Tepig before commanding his Blitzle to run. He kept a tight hold on Mienfoo as Blitzle took off, leading the way to escape. Leaving his pack behind, he sprinted after his much faster Pokémon, eventually losing Vita entirely.

* * *

" _Are you not gonna look on your own?_ "

"Well…"

The truth was Somin wanted to have a conversation with Mew following his discussion with Vita multiple hours prior. He'd been dreading the thought, but it was time to act.

"Vita, Victor, and Jet went off in their own directions. It'd be stupid to double back on area we've already searched, so no harm in sticking together?"

" _Whatever._ "

Somin sighed, posture slacking. Mew could read minds, couldn't she? She had to have seen through that pitiful attempt at trying to justify their being alone.

And yet, Mew seemed unusually distant. From his experience with the legendary, she'd be right on top of the patchwork excuse he'd thrown together in an instant, tearing it to pieces and urging him to get straight to the point. Now, however, she seemed apathetic, blue eyes glazed over as she occasionally peered from side to side, 'searching' for Ray.

Somin found it was much easier to put out feelers of energy in order to detect life rather than looking with his eyes alone. It was in much the same manner he'd become accustomed to using illusions; reaching out within a certain radius and detecting life before making connections with anything that could be tricked. He figured Mew was doing something similar, reaching out with her power to detect any anomaly.

"So… Something on your mind?"

Mew snapped out of her stupor to peer at Somin curiously.

" _Maybe. I'm worried for Ray._ "

"Aren't we all? You're acting a lot different, though. Even more out of touch than normal."

Mew narrowed her eyes at Somin, analyzing him.

" _Could say the same about you._ "

Somin matched her gaze without the trepidation she'd seen exhibited by so many creatures to have come before him. He said nothing, his face blank, mind empty. Mew couldn't help but let the smallest of smiles grace her face.

" _It feels good not to be feared, y'know? It's useful sometimes, but not being able to associate in my own skin gets… Lonely. Even when I met Ray, I had to dull his fear just in order to talk to me. The team's been getting better as I get to know them, but Vita is the only one I've actually been able to have a real conversation with. I respect you for that, Somin. Respect you more than almost anyone else here for having the guts to try knocking some sense into me when I need it, even if I'll beat you every time. I actually kinda like having someone to tell me I'm wrong._ "

"Take it you read my mind, then? You know where this is going?"

" _Maybe. But because of my own reasoning, not because I read your mind. I'm leaving that behind from now on when dealing with you guys._ "

Somin's gaze shifted to something much softer. Smiling wider, Mew turned and got back on with walking. Somin joined her.

" _I'm thinking about the conversation I had with Skyla after you filled her in on all that happened. I think I made a mistake._ "

"Wouldn't be the first."

Mew rolled her eyes, oddly not feeling the same hostility she'd felt prior with his jabs at her expense.

" _Before I go on, though, I'm going to tell you this. It's nice being part of the team, even if many of you guys don't see me as a teammate yet. I'm not going to drag you all into this if you don't want to come with, but from here on out, I'm focusing all efforts on reviving Reshiram and preparing for nothing short of war._ "

"What?"

The urgency in Mew's tone threw Somin off. How had she taken such a quick turn from her conversation to Skyla to the promise of war? She was entirely serious, too, having substituted her normal use of nicknames for a more mature 'Reshiram'.

" _Eight Primes are missing, nine if you count Arceus. Eight of the primordial gods of this world. Including me, that means only fourteen remain. I believed most of the disappearances up until this point wouldn't have an immediate greater effect, but I was wrong. If this continues as-is, the world is going to start seeing the consequences of the UPF's actions on a scale they've never seen before. Giratina was the first step leading to complete catastrophe._ "

Mew stopped, turning back towards Somin with a much more saddened gaze.

" _That's what I accidentally showed Skyla, and in doing that I realized how afraid I was. I don't want any of you to be part of this. I've come to care about all of you too much in order to drag you towards that kind of danger._

 _Somin, if you want, I can leave you alone until this is all over. We can find Ray, and right after I'll give you all a safe place to hide until it all blows over. It means there won't be an immediate fix for his Zorua problem, but at least you'll all be together while I work to fix it. As much as I've come to care for you all, my position as Prime takes precede-"_

"Shut up. We're all in."

" _What? Somin, think about th-_ "

"I said we're in, and nobody on the team is gonna think otherwise."

Mew said nothing, a shocked mouth slowly closing.

" _Why?_ "

"Because, just because I take you for granted doesn't mean you haven't bent over backwards to help us. You've done everything to fix what you did wrong, done everything to try and keep us all together. Honestly, this is just as much my fault as it is yours, as much as I hate to admit it. Protecting Ray to me meant getting rid of you, which is just… It's wrong. What kind of teammates would we be if we just left you to whatever monster you're up against?"

" _Teammates?_ "

"Yeah, fuck it. Ray already gave you an official welcome, but for what it's worth, I'm ready to let you on. Welcome to the team."

Mew smiled

" _Somin…_ "

The Zoroark let the corner of his mouth rise in a smirk before he turned to begin walking again. Without another word, he continued on and reached out once more with his energy to continue the search.

Of course, the news she'd prefaced her proposal with was troubling. Worldwide catastrophe? What exactly did she mean by that? The immediate answer was obvious; the disappearance of the Primes were starting to affect the world. However, this was Mew after all. Of course she was fallible, but with a proper amount of preparation, was there really anything that could stand against her?

He wanted to trust her, but couldn't bring himself to do so entirely. His speech regarding his acceptance of her was only partly genuine, as he still held his own reservations regarding her true intentions for Ray. However, he would have much time in the future to truly observe Mew as they went about day-to-day life, hoping to revive Reshiram for the events to come.

His test began now.

Mew interrupted his internal scheming soon after it began, catching up to him and basically barreling into the back of his head. He nearly fell over, letting out a surprised yell as she latched on his mane.

"The hell are you doing?! Scared the shit out of me!"

" _It's a hug. Thank you, Somin._ "

Somin, heart racing, got a look at Mew out of the corner of his eye as she held onto the fur of his mane as if her life depended on it. Her eyes were closed. A shiver, similar to that which Ray felt having first touched Mew and each subsequent time afterward, ran down Somin's spine. The rush of emotion seemingly emulating from Mew herself. For as long as they touched, Somin felt as she did. Vulnerable, frightened, and yet hopeful, excited, and above all, just as nervous as he himself was.

"It's… No problem. Don't mention it."

Staring at her proved pointless, considering how he felt every little thing she herself did in that moment. He turned back around, opting to give her a moment to herself.

Within a matter of seconds, however, that all changed.

The uneasy contentedness of the one-sided embrace was replaced almost instantly by anxiety as Somin and Mew both picked up the same faraway sound. The yells of a human boy.

Somin only felt Mew's grip on his mane grow tighter for half a second before the world turned around him, vision warping and distorting until he realized he'd been teleported, he blinked for a few moments, hoping to clear his vision and refocus his mind.

The first thing he noticed was his position, now suspended in the air about a dozen feet. His eyes widened in initial reaction, but he could quickly feel an unseen force clamping over his maw before he could make a sound.

" _Shhhh…_ "

Mew was still holding firmly onto his mane, seemingly enveloping him in the same psychic energy that allowed her to levitate. She silently slid up towards the top of his head in order to catch a glance of the scene.

Vita had her vines snaked around a young boy, no older than eleven, in a hold as to restrict his movement as much as possible while suspending him in the air. Though he was now seemingly paralyzed in fear of Vita's glare, Somin could only guess the yell of alarm came from him.

" _Him_?" he asked Mew via Illusion.

" _Guess so. Looks like she just grabbed him out of nowhere. What do you think he did?_ "

" _Why are you asking me? Just read her min-..._ "

" _I know it's dumb, but I don't want to do that to you guys anymore unless it's absolutely necessary, and Vita honestly looks like she has this under control. I know how much you're all uncomfortable with the idea of me seeing what you might not want to put into words. We can figure this out without intruding on Vita's thoughts._ "

" _Fine, fine,_ " Somin groaned. Part of him was glad she was sticking to her commitment, but another thought spawned with her explanation. Just _how_ much of his personal thoughts had she caught in the few years since she'd started tagging along? He could feel the tips of his ears growing hot before he decided to focus once more on the situation at hand.

" _Any ideas?_ " Mew asked, adjusting herself as to watch more intently as Vita grabbed a device out of the trainer's hand and smashed it on the ground. " _The boy didn't see or hear anything before she suddenly started attacking him._ "

" _My guess is that Vita thought something was fishy. It's like you said, she can probably handle this herself. Wouldn't hurt to help her out, though._ "

Directly after Somin said that, he realized the boy had gotten a hold of a Pokéball and released it. He twitched, ready to dive into the situation before realizing Mew still had a hold on him.

" _Maybe, but we're already gonna have to erase the boy's memory of all this. Would be a bit easier to clean up if it was just Vita he encountered._ "

By then, both of them had realized a single Blitzle, followed quickly by two more under-leveled threats, were the only combatants. This was a breeze for Vita. Somin let himself sigh quietly, diffusing the energy he'd subconsciously began charging in his claws.

" _Just sit here and be ready to help if need be… If you say so…_ "

" _Either way, I think Vita should… Y'know,_ _ **have**_ _this._ "

Multiple voices were arguing now amongst the boy's team. Somin turned back towards Mew, gazing at her curiously out of the corner of his eye.

" _What do you mean?_ "

" _You got any idea how useless she's felt since y'all got captured? I dunno, maybe she's just blowing off steam. Doesn't seem like the kind of 'mon to get off on harassing random strangers, though. But I guess we'll figure out wh-_ "

Mew fell silent, eyes clouded over.

" _Mew?_ "

She blinked a few times before reaching out to Somin again, telepathic voice much more hushed.

" _He saw Ray and Misa._ "

" _He_ _ **what**_ _?_ "

" _Last night! Somin! He saw them! He saw them!_ "

" _Slow down… Where are they now? The Pokéballs on his belt?_ "

" _G-gimme a sec. Why aren't they here? He was… Chasing them. Vita must've overheard him talking about it! Somin! Ray's okay!_ "

Somin could feel as Mew tugged on his mane, positively giddy.

" _Mew, I'm just as excited as you, but please just look. How was he tracking them? Does he have a Stoutland or something hidden in one of those other balls?_ "

Somin overheard Ray's name pop up in the conversation, realizing soon after the boy had recognized Vita. He scowled.

" _He knows about Ray, too… You can erase that though, right?_ "

" _Yeah, with a little bit more time. And no, the Pokémon we see now are all he has… The Pokénav! He was following the Pokénav! He managed to catch… The Axew, managed to catch the Axew and then… They escaped? He doesn't have memory of it._ "

" _The Pokénav's a dead end, then._ "

" _What? Why?! We can just steal it off the kid and use it to tra-_ "

Mew remembered Vita had smashed the device for reasons unknown. Repairing technology like that was far outside her skillset.

" _That's fine, just figure out where he saw them last, before Vita smashed it._ "

" _I'd have to make contact and do an in-depth probe for a detail that precise. Same rules go for erasing memories and some of the upper-level stuff like that._ "

" _And Vita?_ "

" _She's about to wrap up,_ " Mew commented as she moved in closer towards a lone Mienfoo, having already paralyzed the poor creature with her gaze. " _You'd be surprised how much easier fear makes sifting through and changing the mind. His thoughts are all on Vita right now as she threatens the Mienfoo, meaning I can just dive right in and-_ "

It happened in an instant. A sudden rush of movement, followed by a hiss of pain and the discharge of a white vapor. By the time Somin realized what had happened, the residual smell of the pungent Pokémace had already wafted his way.

Mew dove into the thick of it, dropping Somin off without a word before shooting away in the direction the boy had left. The trainer had taken off, holding his threatened Mienfoo while following his much faster Blitzle. They were quickly lost in the trees, with Mew taking pursuit.

Somin took a second or two to process the sudden change in mood before being brought back down to reality by the sound of Vita's incessant hisses. She was writhing on the ground, eyes shut tight and mouth agape, coughing between pained breaths.

In his lapse of attention, the boy had made one quick move, taking out his assailant in one swift move before fleeing. Somin knew Mew would easily catch up, leaving him alone with Vita. He barely gave another second of thought before rushing towards Vita, covering his mouth with an elbow in order to mitigate any residual mace.

"Vita! Vita, you alright?!"

* * *

Jake sprinted as fast as his legs could carry him, making sure his grip didn't slip on his Mienfoo in the process.

What in the world had he just wandered into? That was Ray Alston's Serperior! That meant the most dangerous man in the world had to have been nearby. A chill ran down Jake's spine. In a way, he respected Alston for the trainer he was; the guy had even gone as far as to isolate himself in the wild in order to train!

Where, then, had he obtained the kind of power necessary to carry out the attack in Hoenn? If it hadn't been for Alder's efforts in thwarting his second attack, he would've succeeded in doing the same in Opelucid! Jake's family, his friends, and even himself may have all been killed.

What made him snap? Why was he doing all this? Most said it was a result of a mental meltdown after his Zoroark's near-fatal injury in his try for the Eighth Badge. Some even went as far as to claim Ray wasn't human, and never had been. Was he a Zoroark, then, posing as a human? Just like his Zoroark partner?

Jake looked behind him to see if Ray's Serperior was in pursuit. Just because she wasn't on his trail didn't mean he allowed himself to slow down. If Ray truly was lurking in the area, there was a great possibility of his teammates showing themselves. He thought back to the warning that'd been broadcasted early that morning, explaining the blinding light that'd manifested in the sky before fading away, as well as cautioning all trainers in the area regarding Ray's potential presence.

 _A special function is available for any trainers in the area to report a sighting. Simply press the power button of your Pokénav device 5 times in rapid succession if in imminent danger; otherwise, place an emergency call to Trainer Services. If at all possible, evacuate the area around the explosion site._

His Pokénav had been destroyed as he tried calling for help. Jake tried getting a bearing on his surroundings, but couldn't figure which direction was which. Trying to find the trail again was out of the question, as was stopping.

His Blitzle was completely out of sight, probably having abandoned them altogether. Breathing heavy, Jake slowed up in order to set his Mienfoo down. She looked up at him with shocked eyes, expression not having changed once since being frozen in Vita's gaze.

"You're alright," he tried comforting as he fiddled with the Pokéballs on his belt, eventually grabbing the correct one. "We'll talk later when everything's safe, okay? Leave it to me."

Where had this attitude come from? His life was in danger, and yet a sense of calm overcame him. Was this… Was this what it was like to truly lead?

He shook his head before tapping his Mienfoo on the forehead with her ball, quickly swapping it with the last remaining empty Pokéball on his belt and clicking the button. From a long distance away, he could see a red light shooting towards him, confirmation the retrieval of his Blitzle had worked at range.

He fastened her ball as well and stood back up to keep running. The first thing to do was to get some distance before finding a way out of the forest. As he took a step forward, however, a sense of foreboding washed over him completely. He was frozen in his tracks, eyes instantly drawn directly to his right.

There stood a lone Zoroark, smiling a wicked smile. His claws gleamed in the sunlight through the trees, mane waving slowly with the breeze.

" _Hey bud. Sit down. Let's talk._ "

When had he appeared? Jake had been so sure the coast was clear before stopping to tend to his Mienfoo.

He still had his Pokémace, held fast with white knuckles in his right hand. Crying out, he whipped his body towards the Zoroark and sprayed.

As the substance would have otherwise made contact with the Zoroark's body, his form fizzled away.

 _An illusion?!_

Jake froze once more as he felt those same claws he'd seen not moments prior, cold as ice, pressed up against the right side of his neck. He could feel the Zoroark's hot breath running down the back of his shirt.

"P-please…"

Tears welled up in Jake's eyes. This wasn't the same situation as with the Serprior; he had no opportunity to lunge for a Pokéball or try to mace him again. This was hopeless.

" _Not gonna hurt you, just wanted to have a chat. Sit._ "

The Zoroark slowly began to descend, guiding Jake along with his claw until he, shaking, was able to fall into a sitting position.

" _You know why I'm doing this right now?_ "

"B-b-becaus-"

" _I know you know the real answer._ "

Jake gulped, breath hitching.

"B-because I… I maced your mate?"

The Zoroark's heart skipped a beat.

 _What? How would he know about Somin and Vita? Ray never made it public, did he?_

Mew chose not to let her internal reasoning show in her Illusion as she responded. Gossip really existed regarding famous Pokémon? She was glad Somin himself was back treating Vita; he would've had a much more _responsive_ reaction to the news their relationship was public knowledge.

" _And how can you be sure about that?_ "

"L-look, Somin's your name, right? I'm sorry. I'm so, so, so, so sorry. She just scared me! I didn't know what I was doing!"

Mew figured the optimal level of stress for the most effective memory manipulation was at hand. Usually, acknowledgement of her presence as a god alone would be enough to prompt a suitable reaction, but tinkering with as vivid a memory as an encounter with a god was always a pain, especially on a tight schedule.

She allowed her Zoroark claws to slide along the terrified boy's neck until she was able to calmly and slowly press her hand against his neck. With the contact, she closed her eyes and probed his thoughts.

As she thought, most of his mind was focused on the imminent danger of her claws running along his neck. Prominent as well was memory of an article written for a gossip magazine on the boy's Pokénav, detailing how seized medical records from Opelucid revealed Vita's possession of an Egg. Nothing had yet been confirmed, but the article had seemingly connected the dots between the Serperior's egg group matching Somin's, as well as multiple different public images of Ray with his team, in which Somin and Vita seemed very much attached. Mew set it aside. Perhaps she would break the news later regarding their apparent lack of privacy.

Accessing more detailed memory, she saw as he took out his Pokénav and checked the display every so often, following the trail in order to catch up with a single blip on the map.

The first thought to cross Mew's mind after ascertaining his location was one of instant panic.

 _Ray, you idiot! What the hell are you thinking?! A highway?!_

She felt as the world inside Jake's head suddenly shift from fear to a strange sense of curiosity. She quickly pulled back, shock prompting her to recoil her hand before she even had the opportunity to start trimming around his memories of Vita's encounter.

"W-what? Was that you?"

Mew's eyes widened as the demeanor Jake had exhibited prior seemed to exist no longer. She'd done it again, hadn't she? In her moment of exasperation, she'd accidentally triggered an empathetic reaction. Jake had felt as she had due to their contact, and in doing so picked up her critical demeanor.

" _Say nothing._ "

Jake moved suddenly, swatting Mew's claw away before turning to face her. Her eyes widened further, and for a moment she could only observe.

"That was a mental probe. I felt it. My dad has a Reuniclus that does that all the time."

Mew's eyes narrowed. She'd been sloppy.

"You're not a Zoroark, then…"

Jake quickly got up and took a few steps away. Mew made no effort to stop him.

"Are you Ray? Ray himself? The theories say that if you're not a human, you're some kind of psychic type, and a really strong one, but I haven't seen a psychic type ever be able to pull off that kind o-"

Jake swayed for a moment, eyes rolling into the back of his head, before collapsing altogether. Mew had quickly grown irked.

She stood up, brushing herself off before reverting to her true form. She silently scolded herself for her lack of care in keeping her emotions to herself.

Lack of contact with others throughout millenia meant she hadn't had a ton of practice in stopping herself from imprinting her own emotional states onto others. A reverse empath, in a sense, as were all psychics. Most, however, either didn't have the power to properly share their feelings or had the life experience to stop themselves from doing so.

Turning away from the boy's limp body, she reached out to Somin via telepathy.

" _Hey, it's me. Just listen for a sec. Gonna go after Ray from where the trainer last saw him on the map. I'll keep you posted._ "

Mew let herself smile. Even if it had been a long time since the boy had checked the Pokénav, there was no way Ray would have gone far. He'd hit a highway, one he likely wouldn't be dumb enough to cross in broad daylight.

Jake wouldn't be waking up for a while yet, giving her more than enough time to investigate Ray's whereabouts.

Her smile widened. She was going to see her human again.

* * *

Misa and I sat in silence for about a half hour, refusing to even look at one another. There wasn't much in the way of entertainment in the confined space we now found ourselves in. I could only listen to Misa's breath as it reverberated off the dirt walls.

It hadn't taken long to find an abandoned den to take shelter in. Misa had yet to go and get any food, as if she expected me to initiate in conversation. To say I wasn't feeling talkative would be an understatement.

We were crammed, squashed into one another by the confined space. It was better than sleeping out in the cold, and it was deserted by the look, rather, _smell_ of it.

I don't know when specifically I picked up the ability to utilize my sense of smell, but something just seemed natural about it. I could tell what scents were fresh, which were stale. I could even determine relative location of nearby beings if I was in close enough proximity.

It was small wins like that which made the situation at hand seem a little bit nicer. I didn't know if I would try sleeping; surely I couldn't on this empty of a stomach. How quickly could I recover fully from my overexertion, and now my illness on top of that? It would probably be a long time before I could actually get a long rest. We'd certainly need to find a more permanent living space.

"You just gonna sit there and be quiet the whole time, or…?"

"Sorry, I wasn't aware I was _allowed_ to speak, ma'am."

"Oh, shut up," she scoffed, more exhausted than sarcastic. "It's about time we finally talked about… _Us_."

"Us?"

"Yeah, the pair of us. Us versus the world."

"Be my guest," I remarked, rolling my eyes. "There really a lot to say, Misa? If today's proven anything, it's that we've got no chance out here. Is that what you wanna hear? That we're gonna starve or freeze to death?"

"No! You think I'm gonna let a little hunger get to me? That there's your problem, shrimp. You don't trust me to take care of us. You give up too easy."

"Misa, come o-"

"Shut it and listen for once. Don't act like I don't notice you on your high horse, slamming me for the simplest of stuff like you're perfect. Stupid stuff like keeping my mouth shut. You were wrong, Ray. You were wrong back there. Admit it."

"Okay, fine. Sure. Is this point you're making going anywhere?"

"What I'm trying to say is that you think so little of me that it's insulting. Like, how you don't trust me to make any decisions on anything."

"Misa, the reason I do that is because I'm _literally_ more than a decade and a half older than you. You know so little about the world compared to me it's impossible to describe! Of course I should be making the decisions!"

"And what about today?"

"..."

I narrowed my eyes and raised my snout.

"That was a mistake. Just because you made one right decision out of hundreds, it doesn't mean I should let you take full reign on what we do as a pair."

"Fair, but it at least showed you're not perfect, right?"

"Of course I'm not perfect! I never would have met you if I was perfect! I'd be Champion by now if I was perfect!"

"Then stop acting like you're perfect and quit using me as a brainless shield! That's all I ever do for you! Fight your fights, save your ass in battles when you need it. Fighting is great and all, but when are you gonna stop looking at me like it's all I live for?!"

Silence fell over the den for a few moments before Misa groaned.

"Vulcan told me that there's more to fighting than just overpowering an opponent. That my brute force is only half the battle. And you, Ray, you're the other half. The smart side, the strategy side. That's what I want."

"If you're asking me to teach you strategy, you're out of luck."

"What?! Why?! I'm admitting you're better at me with the planning stuff; isn't that what you wanted?"

"Strategy isn't something that's taught, it's learned through tons of experience. I could maybe teach you a few tricks, but I don't know how much I'd be able to help."

"Look, just bear with me for a sec. What if I helped you to learn how to fight as an exchange? Right now, I'd say we're even split in what we can do for the pair. You can think, I can fight. But wouldn't we be better off if we both know how to do both?"

"So you're saying that if I teach you a few tricks about strategizing, you'll teach me a few tricks about battling?"

"Why not? That's a fair trade, right? And, if we're in this for the long term like we think we are, there's no point in just sitting around like we are now. Make sense?"

I blinked for a few moments, mulling it over. Right then, however, my head panged, prompting me to grit my teeth.

"I don't know… I'll think about it. Just let me get some rest. Think I'm getting a fever and I wanna see if I can shake it."

"Whatever. I'll go in a bit and see if I can find some food… What do we do if it rains?"

"Den's built to where the entrance won't flood," I mumbled, readjusting myself and closing my eyes. "I'll wake up if there's water and just leave, you don't gotta worry about me. Disabled the distance lock on the Pokéball too, so go as far as you want."

"Fine, fine, sorry for acting like I cared."

She got up without another word and clawed into the dirt until she could hoist herself up and out of the burrow's entrance. It was a bit too tight, but if she wiggled enough she found she could squeeze out without much trouble.

From there, she tried her best to cover up the hole in the ground with some scattered twigs before wandering off in a random direction, head raised towards the sky. At the very least it didn't _look_ like it was going to rain.

Her stomach growled, prompting her to grimace. If Ray had only listened to her, she could at the very least have an Oran to hold her over until they found something. Now, though, she was running on empty.

"Gods, I could go for some meat," she muttered to herself. "Can't hunt though, so fish maybe? Meh, don't wanna try finding a lake right now. Gotta make sure nobody tries to eat Ray."

She paused for a moment, narrowing her eyes.

"Ungrateful little shit."

Even if she couldn't bring herself to admit it, she wouldn't be able to function without him. His knowledge of the foreign world she now found herself in was invaluable, even if she had the technical skill to fend for herself… To a degree.

Why, now, then, did she often let him off so easy? When they first met, they had legitimately fought until he'd been knocked out. When they'd been captured together, she hated him beyond a shadow of a doubt, even if he did provide for some entertainment with his antics while they were in Timberline.

She'd constantly berated him, at times even unnecessarily. And yet, one day she just stopped. Stopped pushing him as hard, stopped striving for dominance in their weak relationship. Why?

Vulcan, of course, often pushed towards the treatment of Ray like an equal during their 'talks'. Though, that alone wouldn't be reason enough for her to mellow out. Ray's attitude was infuriating, and it certainly hadn't changed in the slightest from the time in which she'd first met him to the present.

Perhaps she had changed? If so, how? She still felt the same. Looked the same, talked the same. If she hadn't changed, what else could it have been? Why did she find herself so… Forgiving, regarding Ray's attitude and antics? She hadn't even laid a finger on him in retribution for the stunt he'd pulled earlier that day.

Maybe she was feeling more sympathetic considering he was ill. He hadn't been performing at his best since his overexertion early the previous day, and apparently he'd started running a fever as a result of the cold he'd obtained after fleeing the novice trainer. There was no fun in beating up a brat who couldn't so much as move, let alone defend himself.

She chalked it up to that, and let the idea take root before she continued on. She felt nothing for him. It was just the sickness.

She couldn't move too far from the den in her search for food, else her ball would automatically recall her and she'd be stuck. She didn't know how far a distance she was allowed to explore, so she started by walking in a circle around their hole.

With each revolution around the den, she widened her search area, making sure to remain as uniformy distant from the den as possible while looking around for Berry bushes of any kind. Her eyes roamed to and fro across the treetops, looking for an apple, perhaps. These trees were different than the ones near the mountains and in Opelucid. Did that mean they'd really gone as far as she thought they had?

They reminded her of the trees back home, from Ray's description on the other side of the mountains from where they were staying in Opelucid. She quickly deduced they were near her cave, however, considering she hadn't seen anything more than rolling hills on their hitched ride.

A shiver ran down her spine with the mere thought of seeing her colony. What would they think of her if she abandoned her trial up on the mountain? No excuse was good enough.

In her absentmindedness, she hardly noticed as the ground under her feet transitioned from twigs and dirt to gravel. She looked, up, confused.

It looked like a path, stretching out in either direction until it turned away and out of sight. She blinked, trying to process its purpose.

At the very least, it didn't _seem_ natural. She took a moment to look behind her. Nothing about the woods seemed unordinary.

 _Maybe it leads somewhere. Better this than walking around in circles forever._

She quickly quelled any doubts she had about the plan with the simple promise of following the path back as soon as she'd adventured as far as she wanted to go. To be sure, she dragged a larger stick from a few feet away and laid it to where it partially covered the trail. Now, it would be impossible to get lost.

The gravel, surprisingly, felt great under her feet as she began walking. It reminded her more of the recreational area just outside her colony's cave. Dragons would often sunbathe on rocks while the hatchlings ran around and sparred with one another. The feeling evoked an odd sense of nostalgia; Misa never had much fun trying to keep up with her siblings or other hatchlings. They overpowered her much too easily, mostly in part due to her size. And yet, the feeling of something familiar calmed her heart and put a confident smirk on her face.

 _Yeah, they should see me now!_ _Sure, it's only been two months, but there's no way any of them could keep up with me after all I learned! Vulcan's a better Haxorus than any of them ever will be!_

She scanned either side of the trail, both for threats and potential food. However, she quickly came to the realization that Berries would be few and far between. She'd already noticed so many geographical similarities to her home, and if the trend continued, fruit would be scarce. She remembered the occasional apple tree, but her colony had subsisted almost entirely on meat.

She herself had no way of hunting. She'd tried in the past before Ray found her, but after a few near-losses against what would've otherwise been prey, she'd frustratedly resigned herself to eating Berries and catching the occasional fish.

Even then, after that first storm she would've completely starved had it not been for Jet and his Yache Berries that helped her warm up. At first she was furious he'd even thought about helping her, but her own hunger soon overrode any emotions she may have held to the contrary.

Her stomach growled. Grimacing, she started scanning the trees, looking for something, anything. A lake, maybe? If there was water nearby, it would open up the opportunity to fish.

She walked for about a half hour before it became obvious she was going nowhere. The trail had remained level, however the forest around it had not. On her right was a steep dropoff she would have to slide down to traverse. She couldn't imagine what it would take to get back up.

On her left was a hill of similar gradient to the one on her right, but instead an upward slope. She still found herself curious as to where the path of gravel went, but it was obvious there would be no food if she continued on the way she was going.

She moved to turn around when she heard something behind her. She froze.

In the distance, three figures, distinctly human, could be seen very steadily approaching, chatting nonchalantly. She hadn't heard them before over the sound of her own footsteps, but they were coming from where she'd started on the trail.

She instinctively darted for the side of the trail, only to realize either side was inaccessible. Her only option was to retreat further down the trail until she could find a place to hide out… Further away from Nox.

"Crap, the kid's gonna get eaten at this rate," she mumbled to herself before taking a moment to think. "Screw running. I'm already captured, aren't I? You can't use a Pokéball on a 'mon if they're already caught! What can they do to me?"

She puffed out her chest and stared down the still-faraway humans. Smirking confidently, she took a step forward. And then another. And another.

Soon enough, she was walking confidently towards them. The plan was simple, ignore them if at all possible and just continue on her way. Show no weakness. No mercy.

"Mom! Mom, look!" the youngest said, pointing at Misa as she came into view. She refused to react, head held high as if they were nonexistent.

"O-oh! Tim, don't. Just let it be."

Misa glanced at the female who'd said it for a quick moment. Were they… Scared of her?

"Look at that," the final one spoke in a loud whisper, male and the largest of all of them. "Hey T, c'mere."

Misa stopped, eyeing each of them cautiously. The young boy, responding to his father, left his mother behind and joined his father further down the trail, closer to Misa.

The way they were situated blocked Misa from getting further down the trail without pushing past them. Despite her heart racing, she resolved to stand her ground.

"Okay, so think," the father spoke. "Axew live on the other side of the bay, near the mountains. What's Axew's evolution line?"

"Fraxure and Haxorus! They're so cool!"

"Right. Now, if there's no Axew, Fraxure, or Haxorus that live around here, then why do you think this one is here?"

"Um…"

"Rich, we should probably just let it pass," the woman suggested from behind her son and husband. They ignored her.

Were they really using Misa as a learning experience? She didn't have time for this, but perhaps they would just let her leave if she waited long enough. If they had any intention of catching her, they would've attempted to do so already.

"Did it swim?"

The father laughed before pointing at Misa.

"No, look. She's too small to have travelled all the way here from across the ba-"

"Hey! Who the hell you calling small, you scrawny-ass twig-lookin' piece of shi-"

"See that?! She's sentient too, understands us talking. It means she was, or is, with a trainer."

Misa took a step back, taken aback she'd been interrupted. It took her a second to remember normal humans couldn't understand her speech.

"Whoa… Lucky. I wish I had an Axew."

"Maybe you will when you're old enough! Why not go and introduce yourself!"

Alarm bells rang in Misa's head, emulated in much the same way the mother reacted, stepping forward to plead.

"Rich, let's just keep going. What if that thing bites him?"

"Here…"

The father, again ignoring his wife's protests, dug through the pack on his back. Misa was ready to take off, but relaxed as he pulled out something entirely unfamiliar. Afterwards, he gave the item to his son, ushering him forwards.

"Go on, say hi. Don't get too close, but give it this if it's feeling friendly."

Misa's desire to remain stoic was deteriorating rapidly. What was it that they were to 'give' her? Was it dangerous?

The child was excited beyond belief, practicing all sorts of self-control in forcing himself to slowly approach Misa. She instinctively growled, starting to crouch.

"It's okay!" the child said, his voice breaking out over the sounds of bickering in the background. "I'm Tim… What's your name?"

"Misa," she responded suspiciously, refusing to break from her battle-ready stance.

"Axew?"

Misa rolled her eyes.

"Here, want a cracker?"

He haphazardly reached towards Misa, prompting her to step back and charge her tusks with energy as she growled again in warning.

The boy recoiled for a moment before trying again, much more slowly. As he was close to getting in Misa's range, however, he simply set the 'cracker' on the ground in front of her before pulling back and eyeing her patiently.

Misa paused for a moment, letting the energy drain out of her tusks. She'd heard the word 'cracker' before while under Drayden's care. What was it?

She tentatively reached out and snatched up the beige-colored disk before retreating. Unsure of what to do with it, she took a quick sniff.

Food!

Her instincts overcame her and she devoured the object without second thought, forgetting to chew as she swallowed it in a single gulp. Instantly, all signs of aggression were gone.

She let her legs carry her towards the small boy, proceeding to sniff all around him for more of these 'crackers' before her target had time to react.

"U-uh… Uh… Dad?! What's it doing?"

Misa could hear as the boy's father laughed in the background.

"It wants more food."

"So what do I do?!"

The crinkle of cellophane. It was a weird noise Misa had heard before, promptly before a few meals under Drayden's care. She stopped to look at the older human.

In his hand was what seemed to be a cylindrical sleeve. From it, he procured another one of those 'crackers'. Misa was transfixed, and quickly left the boy behind to rush down the father.

"Gimme! Just gimme the food, dumbass!"

"Hungry, aren't you?"

The father gave his wife the cracker he had in his hand. She'd since backed off somewhat due to Misa's approach, but carefully took the cracker.

She let her husband take her hand and guide it towards Misa. As soon as it came into range, she jumped up as high as she could and snatched it straight from her hand, prompting the woman to recoil, letting out a frightened squeak.

"More! C'mon, more damnit!"

The man laughed again before reaching down to let Misa jump and grab _the entire sleeve_ from him. Misa nearly tore apart the plastic wrapping and devoured the first few crackers she could find.

The taste was indescribable. Such a simple snack tasted so, unbelievably good after the long day Misa had endured. She licked her chops before downing a few more.

In her absentmindedness, she didn't notice the man's hand approaching until she felt something lightly stroking her horn. Frightened, Misa whipped her head away and chomped down her jaw in the man's general direction.

It took a few seconds for anyone to register her teeth had met their mark.

"Ow! Damn it!" the man cursed, yanking his hand back as Misa opened her jaw. As she stood there for a moment, frozen, she watched the man as he cradled his injured wrist. A quick lick of her upper teeth revealed the metallic taste of blood.

"H-holy!" the woman exclaimed, taking her husband by the shoulder and pulling him back. In the gap it provided, Misa did the only thing she could think of doing.

Run.

She ran as fast as she could while still holding the sleeve of crackers close to her chest.

Why had she done that? It wasn't as if she was entirely unfamiliar with human contact. Drayden had even scratched her horn before, admittedly much to her satisfaction. She'd just acted without thinking, when the human was being nice enough to give her enough food to feed both herself and Nox!

 _What the hell is wrong with me?_

Before she knew it, she'd ran far out of sight of the humans, and only dared turn around when the trail reopened up on either side and she could effectively hide if need be. The humans, however, were nowhere to be found.

She didn't let that stop her. She continued jogging all the way back to where she'd left her stick marker, entered the forest, and continued on at a suitable, if less brisk of a pace.

It took a bit of aimless wandering to find the hole again, but she eventually located the correct bush and pushed inside, kicking up a bit of dirt as she clumsily fell into the den.

"Misa?"

My voice sounded hoarse at best. I'd just woken up from something I could at least try and call a nap, noticing quickly the sky outside was starting to get dark.

"Did you find anything?"

She tossed a sleeve of crackers towards me, its contents spilling out as it hit the floor. My mouth instantly began watering, but I held myself back for a moment.

"Where'd you get this? You didn't rob a place, did you?"

"No…"

Misa, obviously not in the mood to chat, laid down and turned away from me.

 _What got into her?_

The den was still cramped and Misa couldn't help but rest her tail over my legs. I didn't question her mood further, the tight conditions not hindering my ability to tear open the remaining cellophane and pierce a cracker with a claw.

While I appreciated the food, it couldn't help but make more apparently my need for something to drink. I shoved it in the back of my head. Perhaps tomorrow I'd be feeling up to going and searching for some water.

* * *

 **So, I have a bit of explaining to do.**

 **First off, I'd like to apologize to all those who were actively wondering about the next update. I figured I should explain why it came so late.**

 **In a word: college. I started my Freshman year this semester, and with it I took a lot of time away from my laptop. While adjusting to university life, I stopped myself on focusing on this chapter for a while.**

 **Posting this means I've effectively adjusted and have somewhat gotten back into the groove of writing. However, this does not mean I'm going to restrict myself any further with an update schedule. In the future, updates will come as they come, mostly reliant on coursework, preoccupation, and a general desire to write. I hope you all can understand,**

 **Now, for my thoughts on this chapter… It went a lot better than I'd expected. The Misa scene came pretty naturally from its conception, even if it underwent heavy edits. I thought the conversation between her and Ray came off as a bit clunky, but what can you do?**

 **The scene break cutting to Vita had initially been a scene with Axle as he converses with Vulcan, Drayden, and Skipp, a scene I plan to include in the next chapter. Only reason I didn't include it here was due to some timeline inconsistencies, most of which I was able to fix. It's surprisingly difficult managing two separate stories in two entirely different timezones. Remember in the future that Kanto and the Orange Islands, where the main group is housed currently, is a full twelve hours ahead of Unova.**

 **If any of you were readers of the OG Seven and Counting (back when it was called Another Chance), you might remember Jake. Chapter 4 of the original story detailed a battle with a certain annoying, inexperienced trainer and Ray, in which Victor takes out all of the opposing Pokemon with ease.**

 **I had added this scene with the sole purpose of reintroducing the character in Act III as a trainer that actually captures Ray and Misa, but I actually scrapped this idea about halfway through Act II. I knew the story was beginning to drag on, and the idea was for Jake to capture Ray and Misa before taking them to Striaton's First Gym in his quest to complete the Gym Challenge himself. This was initially intended as a means to stretch the time in which the plot took place, as well as give Ray and Misa the experience necessary to become competent fighters. I'm sure you all can see, however, why this would've been a bad idea.**

 **In choosing to remove the aforementioned plot arc, I ended up deleting Jake's character entirely within the first few chapters during my extensive rewrites of the First Act. However, as the Third Act rolled around and I was really without much driving force behind the narrative, I thought of a way to reintroduce his character. Thus, here we are now.**

 **Again, I apologize for the lack of updates over the last few weeks as I've been adjusting to college life. I hope, however, more activity will come as the narrative begins to pick up from here.**

 **Cheers!**


	28. Domestic Affairs

**I have a new story posted on my profile! Please either read the A/N at the end of the chapter or go check it out for more information! It's not a project I'm prioritizing at the moment, but it's something I hope you all enjoy nonetheless.**

* * *

 **Chapter XXVII - Domestic Affairs**

* * *

Vulcan dragged another corpse near the fire, the darkness hindering Axle's ability to identify the species. The Swampert nodded quietly towards the Haxorus before standing and grabbing a few sticks from the nearby pile to reinvigorate the fire.

Vulcan made quick work of skinning and dismembering the mysterious prey before allowing Axle to wash it all down and begin to cook. Often, Axle had been the one to tend to his team's fire in long-term camping situations, considering he had the ability to extinguish it quickly if need be.

As such, he'd picked up cooking very quickly, and often even cooked Somin's prey for his teammates after particularly difficult days of hiking. Generally, the team only hunted on special occasions, as it was rarely more than a few days' journey between some small town to resupply. However, Axle's ability to wash the meat using his own water made for a relatively easy job each time he was put to the task… After, of course, convincing the team the water he conjured with his energy was, in fact, sanitary.

Such was evident by the only other occupant of the area, Drayden. He sat on the ground, back propped up against a log and breathing steady. His demeanor was the meaning of the word disheveled. Posture slacking, hair untidy, it went against everything Axle had seen of Drayden up until that point. He was shocked to find how frail the old man seemed now, after all that'd happened. Had Reshiram's energy really been that large a factor in his seemingly everlasting youth?

"So, uh," Axle began, adjusting the sticks propped over the fire so the provided meat would cook more evenly. "How uh… How've you guys been?"

Vulcan looked up from the leg he was silently eating to stare at Axle indifferently. In his mind's eye, Axle saw snippets of his previous battle versus the Haxorus; how he'd been completely annihilated. He quickly lowered his head.

"I'm sorry about Mew," he mumbled. "I hardly even know her myself, so I just…"

"I'm sure Mew has the maturity to apologize on her own accord if she feels regret regarding the incident," Vulcan put simply. "Don't defend her if you don't know her well enough to argue her case."

"O-okay…"

Vulcan tore into a piece of raw meat from the creature he'd caught, devouring an entire thigh within a matter of a minute. Throwing the bone aside, he licked his claws clean of any remaining blood before moving to join Drayden in his spot next to the fire.

The Haxorus had hardly left Drayden's side in the day or so since they'd been on the island.

"Anything yet?"

Skipp's sudden voice startled Axle. For his size, the Flygon was unbelievably quiet. He'd just come from the trees for reasons unknown to Axle. The fact it was the dead of night didn't help Axle's trepidation.

"U-uh, yeah… Vulcan brought some meat back. Don't know what it is, but I'm cooking some up for the humans and whoever else likes it cooked, I guess."

Skipp looked around until he found what was left of the carcass Axle had mentioned. His face contorted into something of a grimace.

"I-it's really not like Vulcan to be so messy about hunting," he remarked. "I'll, uh… Take one of the cooked ones whenever they're done. Thanks."

"Sure."

Axle didn't feel particularly comfortable looking at Skipp, or any other being associated with Drayden. Even though he hadn't seen the event personally, Mew's apparent bloodlust made all too much sense considering stories he'd heard of her while on the team. Even his own conversation with her had been oddly robotic, as if she was just acting amicable.

Her killing of Drayden's Druddigon wouldn't easily be forgotten, and he couldn't help but think Drayden blamed the team in general. Were they not just victims of circumstance?

"Your n-name was Axle, right?"

Axle hadn't noticed Skipp had been watching him. Turning his attention back to the roasting meat and ignoring Mew's behavior, he nodded.

"I'm Skipp, if you, uh, didn't already know. Heh… Guess we never fought, but I remember Seraph telling me how good of a fight you put up. I-It's been a long time since she's had to resort to using Sing in battle."

"Oh… Thanks, I guess."

"Good we finally met, then?"

"Yeah, definitely."

At that point Axle just wanted Skipp to leave. He was feeling oddly uncomfortable, much in the same manner Mew had made him feel earlier the same day.

 _Jet, this is getting borderline unbearable. Just come back, please? Mew, Somin, Vita, and Victor are in Unova, and you choose now of all times to disappear?_

"The Pidgeotto's almost done… Does Drayden want any?"

"You ask me as if I'm his keeper. He's earned enough respect to be addressed personally, no?"

"Um… Okay."

Axle could feel heat rushing to his face as he broke eye contact with Vulcan. The Haxorus wasn't interested in helping him in the least.

To get Drayden's attention, the Swampert approached the duo. The old man was staring off into space, but his eyes focused on Axle as he approached.

It felt funny, but the best way Axle could think of getting his point across was to sit on his hind legs and simulate eating from a roast as if he were playing charades. He then pointed to the roasting Pidgeotto, sizzling over the fire.

Drayden simply nodded, letting out a quiet, "Thank you," as Axle turned and headed back towards the fire. Skipp was standing nearby, looking on the scene with something of a grimace.

"Hey, Axle… I know Vulcan doesn't mean anything by it, y'know? He's just… Uh… In a bit of a rough spot here."

The Haxorus snorted audibly, obviously having heard Skipp's excuse for his behavior. He opted to say nothing further, however.

"Now, uh… Do me a favor and grab me a piece of that Pidgeotto? It kinda hurts to go near the fire…"

"Hurts?"

"My visor," Skipp said, pointing to the eye in which the visor had been broken. "My eye is still really, really sensitive. Y'know, haven't seen light through anything but a lens in a long time."

"Oh, right…"

"Never knew Swampert's highlights were orange, weird enough. I'm from Hoenn, too, but never actually saw a starter until I was already a Vibrava. They've always just seemed… Yellowish, I guess."

"Hmm…"

Axle could think of nothing else to say outside of the most basic of responses. Skipp was obviously trying to start up some sort of conversation to lighten the mood, but Axle could feel Vulcan's piercing stare on the back of his head. Excusing himself, he quickly detached the stick on which the Pidgeotto was skewered, holding it out towards Skipp so he could lob himself off a leg with a claw.

He crossed back over to Drayden, making sure the skewer wasn't hot before carefully handing it over. Axle eyed Vulcan out of the corner of his eye, in case he'd done something wrong. The Haxorus, however, seemed preoccupied with his own food.

"I appreciate the gesture, Axle," Drayden said with as much power behind his voice as he could muster. Axle simply nodded, surprised the Gym Leader had remembered his name.

"I'll have some too, if you wouldn't mind."

All heads turned to face Seraph as she emerged from one of the nearby tents. Her head was held high, holding out under the pressure of everyone's stare.

"Seraph," Drayden and Skipp said simultaneously, the latter taking a step forward before the Altaria shook her head. She calmly crossed the campsite, making absolutely sure to send Axle a brief glare, before setting herself down next to her trainer.

Axle looked away again, keeping his head down. He wanted nothing more than to disappear in that moment.

Seraph extended her neck and let her head rest in Drayden's lap. Grateful, Drayden smiled.

"I'm sorry for any strife my dragons have caused you," Drayden said, prompting Axle to turn back around. "It seems we're all on edge. However, my quarrel lies with Mew, not you. I know full well you were doing what you thought best for your trainer."

Axle smiled lightly, nodding in thanks despite Vulcan's apparent discomfort with the scene. Skipp had tried making conversation and lightening the mood, but Drayden's attempt simply felt _different_.

"This Pidgeotto is cooked rather well given the circumstances. I take it you're the chef for your team, no?"

"Uh, yeah," Axle said, demonstrating his point with a small spray of water in no general direction. It elicited a chuckle out of Drayden.

"It's inventive, I'll give you that. Not many trainers choose to rely o-"

He erupted into a violent coughing fit, prompting each of his three dragons to react. Skipp even crossed back towards his team from Axle's side of the fire to ensure his trainer was okay.

"Cut that out," Drayden said after regaining his breath, seemingly scolding his dragons. "Worry about me when I'm dead. I'll be fine."

Axle allowed himself to calm back down, choosing to sit and listen to Drayden as he continued on.

"Looks like Vicus assisted me more than I could've hoped. It's because of his energy I've probably even lived this long, let alone maintained a Gym. Heh…"

A momentary pause.

"I suppose I truly never explained why we call 'Reshiram' Vicus… Of course, we intended to keep his presence a secret from you all, but it's just as much his name as mine is Drayden. Not a codename, not an alias… Vicus was the surname of a UPF admin."

Axle's eyes widened. What was Drayden saying?

* * *

" _Is that…"_

 _Drayden turned at the apparent shock of his friend. The Champion's worry regarding the sight quickly took hold, considering both the men only had three battle-ready Pokémon between them._

 _Drayden's team had succeeded in the seemingly impossible feat of defeating a UPF-controlled Entei, but at a heavy cost to their stamina. Only Vulcan and Shanta remained conscious after the fact, even if the former was heavily battered. Shanta's nature as a distanced attacker allowed her to escape with simple scrapes and exhaustion. Both the Haxorus and the Goodra stood close behind Drayden._

 _Sanuek, having participated heavily in the opening assault on the compound, had worn out his entire team relatively quickly. His Reuniclus, Solomon, was all that could manage consciousness, floating low to the ground to conserve energy._

 _The observation area they now found themselves in was lined with computers and machines of all sorts of sizes, all off in the power outage that'd ensued at the start of the raid. The only light in the area was that provided by their headlamps of each individual soldier and the lights on their respective firearms._

 _All of it, of course, except the dim, red light exuded from the tail of a white-feathered dragon on restraints in the adjacent room. The creature towered above both of the men present, eyes closed._

" _Drayden… Is that who I think it is?"_

 _At that moment, Drayden felt the weight of the world leave his shoulders. He dropped his head, laughing quietly to himself. Both of the dragons present were paralyzed in pure awe._

 _Tears streamed down each of their faces. Reshiram was not only the dragons', but Drayden's god. He was truly a sight to behold._

" _Look, Drayden, I hate to burst your bubble, but we gotta be on guard. On top of the fact I promised we wouldn't mess with Reshiram if we found him, what if they're controlling him like they did with that Entei? You never k-"_

" _Sanuek. You're a friend, so I'm going to forgive you this once. You insult Reshiram's name to even suggest the UPF could have controlled him. And, quite frankly, even if he did attack me…"_

 _Drayden turned towards his best friend, golden eyes gleaming._

" _I would want nothing more than to die by his hand."_

 _A few seconds of silence followed, broken only with the Champion sighed, defeated._

" _Fine. You take your time, and I'll keep watch outside. I'll just be ready to book it if he's aggressive."_

 _Sanuek extended his hand. Drayden peered at it oddly._

" _If your dumbass gets killed here, just know you're the greatest man I've ever met. That's a fact."_

 _Drayden nodded, taking his friend's hand. After only an instant, however, he yanked him in for a tight hug._

 _The embrace only seemed to last seconds, and within a minute Sanuek was out of the room entirely. Drayden's sense of time became muddled, his thoughts too clouded with the call._

 _He felt quite uneasy after the fact, choosing to look towards Vulcan for assurance._

" _With you until the end. Nothing's changed," the Haxorus said_

 _Drayden chuckled for a moment, nodding his thanks towards the Haxorus._

 _Of all that could've managed the situation, Reshiram had enlisted Drayden's help. He wasn't the small boy the dragon had encountered all those years ago. Drayden himself was a dragon now, a true member of the species. He'd been shown favor by one of the two Lords of Dragons himself. What better confirmation was there?_

 _This is what Drayden had been born to do._

" _ **The switch. Tabletop. Encased in glass.**_ "

 _Reshiram's call until that moment had been nothing more than appeals to his subconscious, an itch. Gratification when he moved one step closer to locating Reshiram, despair when he went on the wrong tangent._

 _But now, with the proximity, Drayden could hear his lord's deep voice, if only in fragments. No doubt Reshiram was weak after the entire ordeal. Drayden would do all he could as a humble servant to ensure all was well again._

 _His instincts overcame him before he even had the opportunity to process the words he was hearing. His eyes twitched in their sockets as he scanned each and every surface for an emergency release switch. He threw machines, glass jars, observational equipment. Much of it was broken upon hitting the ground, but Drayden couldn't bother to care._

 _He found the switch near the front of the room, wasting no time in lifting the glass casing so hard it broke off its hinges. The switch wasn't powered by electricity for fear of the restraints releasing their subject in the case of an outage. The key had already been generously inserted._

 _With a satisfying click, Reshiram's restraints broke apart, leaving the Prime to collapse to the ground. He'd been positioned in such a way as to restrict movement entirely. His muscles ached with years of disuse. However, a creature of his caliber would be able to recover relatively quickly. He simply needed time to readjust._

 _Drayden forced open the partially-closed steel door blocking his way. Vulcan and Shanta quickly followed, equally anxious and eager._

 _The call seemed to disappear right then, leaving Drayden's mind with a certain level of clarity he hadn't been able to achieve in years. His natural urges still compelled him forwards towards the exhausted beast. He was a dragon, after all._

 _He dropped to his knees before Reshiram's limp figure, head bowing in respect. Shanta and Vulcan repeated Drayden's actions in the manner best suiting their anatomy by sitting with their tail plastered to the ground, head bent and soles of their feet inward-facing._

 _Moments passed, the only visible sound being the occasional hiccup erupting out of Drayden as he wept. His entire life had led to this moment; his entire existence was for this sole purpose. A natural-born human, raised amongst dragons as their own, tasked in using the resources available to him only as a means to serve his lord. What an honor. What a privilege._

 _And yet, something changed the moment Reshiram opened his eyes. They were magnificent, certainly, but not in the way Drayden had imagined. He decided not to speak as Reshiram made it evident he was still conscious. Drayden didn't have a need to say anything._

" _ **Why do you weep for me? I am not worth your tears.**_ "

" _W-What?"_

 _Reshiram's gaze was calm, calculated. However, he closed his eyes again shortly after as he continued speaking._

" _ **I was forced to call for help because I myself was unable to escape. To say my life is somehow more important than yours… I wouldn't have given you the power to understand your friends if such a claim was true.**_ "

" _M-My lord, I… I can't accept that."_

" _ **What have I done but manipulate and confuse you? You worship me as your god, but on what pretense? I gave you the ability to understand dragons as a sign of respect for what you could become. A bridge between the human world and our own. Nobody else was capable of handling such a crisis, not even myself.**_ "

" _T-then…"_

 _Reshiram opened his eyes again, looking upon Drayden with conviction._

" _ **You were the only being I knew capable of saving me in my time of need. And, for that… Dræden, I hope you will accept my gratitude in its fullest.**_ "

" _My lor-"_

"' _ **My lord' nothing. I reserve no right to be called your lord.**_ "

 _Drayden said nothing. Perhaps Reshiram was simply confused. He surely had to have been exhausted after years of captivity._

" _ **There is more I must do. The administrators of this place fled upon the first sign of trouble. There are underground passageways beneath our feet.**_ "

" _How many?"_

" _ **Dræden, I ask you leave this to me. It's much more a personal issue.**_ "

 _Drayden shut his mouth once more, solemnly lowering his head and nodding._

" _ **You look as if you have issue with my decision.**_ "

" _N-No, my l-"_

" _ **The truth, Dræden.**_ "

 _Drayden, mind racing, tried desperately to stop himself from quivering. This encounter had gone nothing like he'd imagined. He shivered, feeling as if the temperature of the air had dropped significantly around him._

" _I… I mean no insult by you, my lo-... Reshiram."_

 _The dragon narrowed his eyes. Was his gaze one of satisfaction, or annoyance?_

" _I came here with every intention of freeing you, but I have an obligation to those that allowed me to come. The administrators… I need to see to it they don't escape."_

" _ **Though your partners are battered and exhausted?**_ "

 _Drayden turned to the Goodra and Haxorus behind him. Looking between the two gave him the only answer he needed._

" _Yes."_

* * *

"The rest of that night was a blur, to be honest… Reshiram allowed us to rest after we found out the admins were long gone, and the next few days might as well have not existed entirely. I must've been asleep for days, and yet, he never grew impatient. He'd brought us to an island far south of Unova so we could all recover in privacy, and it wasn't until I tried contacting Sanuek that anyone knew I was actually alive. Of course, only him and a few others knew Reshiram actually existed."

Axle had since sat, eagerly accepting Drayden's story despite the smell of overly-cooked meat behind him. He wanted to know more about the UPF, certainly, but it was also interesting seeing the apparent differences between Drayden's and Ray's interaction with the Primes.

Reshiram seemed like a creature much less fallable than Mew, despite the obvious difference in power. He knew when to be humble, when to be assertive, and held fast to his ideology.

"I know I mentioned Shanta… She and Deon came as a parting gift from the woman who held the Opelucid Gym before me. A woman very dear to me… Deon was her signature Hydreigon, and Shanta herself was a real force to be reckoned with. They both retired a few years ago and now stay on that very same island, but… that's how I came to met Crag. He was a very young member of their team, and the only one left with me after their retirement. He was almost like a son to them."

Axle could feel his thoughts come to a screeching halt as all gazes turned to him. Vulcan, Skipp, and Seraph, all seated next to their trainer, sent Axle glances of varying intensity.

"I'm getting off-track," Drayden said simply, closing his eyes. Axle wondered if the reference to the Druddigon had been intentionally planned. Either way, the Swampert felt just as bad as when they'd started right after the fact.

Those two dragons didn't even know their teammate was dead.

"I worked using my human contacts to hunt down the one person we could point out as the 'head' of the UPF at the time. Roxanne Vicus. Reshiram worked as part of our team, and when we finally cornered her… Who was I to deny him of what he wanted?"

What Reshiram wanted?

"Sanuek and I decided we could do nothing to stop Reshiram from unleashing his rage on the woman that'd knowingly tormented him for years. So, we left him with her. Alone. To this day I still don't know what he did. He may have burned her to a crisp, squashed her, or even eaten her. He may have even let her go…"

Axle looked towards the ground. As the story continued, he'd hoped to find at least some commonality between Mew and Reshiram in regards to their interactions with the humans they'd chosen. Ray was very much Mew's equal in terms of the team, as they all were. However, even if Reshiram had said he was Drayden's equal in his account of the story, his actions spoke entirely otherwise. Was there any right way to go about that sort of partnership, though?

"All I know is that Reshiram, from thenceforth, was to be called Vicus. It was a personal custom of his, to adopt the name of those he respected in order to make sure they were revered and remembered after they were gone, regardless of their ideology or how it contrasted with his own. I don't know how long he will bear the name, but it's admirable, in a sense."

Axle couldn't think of much else to do but nod quietly, more concerned with the question of why Drayden chose to tell him this story rather than the odd behavior exhibited by Reshiram. Was it Drayden's attempt at easing the tension? If that were the case, he wouldn't have brought up Crag. Then again, Drayden didn't seem like the kind of man to act petty for the sake of pettiness.

"The UPF has, in a way, made me into the man I am today, just like it has your human. He and I are oddly connected like that… His father, after all, was one of the men who facilitated the organization's return."

Drayden's voice adopted a gradual tone of conviction. He sat up, staring the uncomfortable Swampert straight in the face.

"Outside of that, however, I'd hope you see little to no similarity between us. I was adopted by dragons, raised by dragons. I was a dragon in my entirety until I learned humans even existed. I worked my way up from absolutely nothing, built credentials, and rescued the celestial being who would later endow me with his full and complete trust in the wake of tragedy."

Drayden's eyes no longer held the golden hue they had while Reshiram's power had been inside of him, but they still gleamed with the same intensity despite the disheveled nature of the rest of his body.

"I would like you to think about something, Axle. What has Ray done during his short time on this earth in order to garner the favor of a being such as Mew?"

"That's enough."

Axle jumped away from the new voice as it reprimanded Drayden. Skyla stood there, arms crossed and brow creased.

"S-Skyl-"

"Zip it," Skyla snapped at Axle. "Two years. Two whole years I go without a call, a text, a voicemail, anything! If I wasn't so upset about everything earlier you bet your ass I'd be yelling at all of you. Not. A. Word."

Skyla turned towards Drayden, same glare applied to each of his dragons.

"And you. Gods, if I don't have a rant and a half for each and every one of you!"

On that note, Skipp looked towards the ground. Seraph, obviously irked by Skyla's interruption, stood and began walking away. Skipp followed, sending Axle an apologetic glance as they disappeared from sight behind the treeline.

"This doesn't concern you, Skyla."

"D-doesn't concern me?! Isn't that what you've been saying for the past month?! After _my_ nephew disappeared! You knew all about the UPF, and how legendaries were seeking human protection, and you said nothing! And now, here you are berating one of his Pokémon for nothing more than an association to the entire thing! What is wrong with you?!"

Vulcan stood silently, not letting his gaze leave Skyla. He let his tail swing back and forth, making it clear he wouldn't allow Skyla to continue on her tangent. Drayden called him off, however, with a simple hand on his tail.

"We can talk about why I withheld information from you later, but I'm afraid you're mistaken if you think I'm berating Axle. I simply want to warn him about Mew. I very much doubt Ray is even nearly as much culpable as Mew and her… Poor decision-making. Vicus knew this, and chose to intervene because of it."

"You're not about to say what I think you're going to say. I _know_ you're not going to say what I think you're going to say."

"Both Vicus and I are of the opinion Mew's decision-making was in remiss. Mew and Vicus could very well have coordinated with one another in preparations to stop the UPF before the problem got out of hand, but she was too caught up in her ties to an incompetent human to make rational decisions, let alone act on them."

Skyla lunged forward, prompting Vulcan to crouch down and beat his tail on the dirt beneath him. As it turned out, however, he wouldn't have to protect his human.

Axle jumped in front of Skyla before she could close the distance, standing on his hind legs and extending his massive arms to impede her progress. As she tried ducking under him, he simply grabbed her and forcefully sat her down.

"Let me go!" she screamed, fighting Axle in an attempt to get to Drayden. "You heard what he said! He never cared about Ray! Damn it, Axle, he deserves it!"

Axle sent a glare in Drayden's direction, but didn't let go of Skyla. Having his human called incompetent right in front of him wasn't something he would just take, but it wasn't as if anything could be done by either of them.

"I would like to save Ray, Skyla. He's a young boy caught up in something greater than him and I can empathize with that. However, that 'something greater' is, and always has been, a greater priority. Mew couldn't take any of this seriously, and was actively making the situation worse before we captured her. I hope you can come to understand that."

Skyla grit her teeth, cursing to herself. Taking her attention away from Drayden for a few moments, she pushed and kicked Axle until she was able to separate herself from him. She began grumbling, sitting with legs crossed and eyes lowered. As much as she wanted to slap the older Gym Leader, Vulcan wouldn't let her get close.

"I want to emphasize again I feel no ill will towards either of you. Mew is the aggressor. Not for the fact she…"

Drayden cleared his throat.

"It's not for the fact she killed my teammate. No. We were afraid of how her actions would come to harm our efforts in stopping the UPF and acted on it. Though their relationship has been rocky in the past, Vicus spoke of the importance of easing her into cooperating with us. It failed, as has every attempt to do the same ever since."

"Why are you telling us this?" Skyla asked, annoyance seeping into her voice. Axle sat a few feet away from her, careful not to try anything that might set her off.

"I want to make sure priorities are established," Drayden said, voice now imperative. "Mew, as she is right now, is a threat. Her behavior is too erratic to rely on and her mind is too fixated on Ray to be in the right place, and because of that, I've come to learn that it's impossible to work with her, despite Vicus' opinion to the contrary. Even if she were to find him, she would leave with him and his team, never to be seen again."

"Drayden…"

"I've never been the best when it comes to empathy, but I'm sure I can't imagine the personal conflict you both must be going through. However, this situation is larger than all of us. You must conv-"

"Shut up, Drayden. She's on your side."

Silence fell around the now-dying fire. Axle looked at Skyla, dumbstruck.

"What?" both he and Drayden said simultaneously. This was one of the rare times Skyla ever found Drayden at a loss for words.

"Mew's not stupid. She loves Ray, and when we talked earlier I _felt_ why. But I think I saw something else, something she didn't want me to see…"

"Explain," Drayden said simply, having regained his composure.

"What do you mean you _saw_ something?" Axle asked. Skyla was able to interpret the meaning of the question.

"It was like a vision," Skyla explained, crossing her arms, "but I really don't know _what_ I saw exactly. When she just up and disappeared earlier, she went to go check something, and…"

Skyla shivered, hoping to describe the emotions she'd felt through Mew.

"Gods, she was terrified, and not for Ray. Something is happening because of all the UPF's abductions, and Mew knows it. And she's conflicted about it. The fact she couldn't do anything to stop Alder, or the UPF in general. I felt all of it. All of her thoughts, her feelings. I don't think she wanted me to, but when she touched me, I did."

Skyla sighed, raising her head to glare at Drayden.

"She knows more than any of us do about what's happening, and I think she's starting to learn that this is becoming so much more important than Ray. You, though, you never wanted to try to help him. You don't know what it's like having somebody close to you in danger like this."

Drayden said nothing. Skyla knew nothing of his past, and interrupting her for the sake of correction would lead him nowhere.

"So you know what, Drayden? You win. You got us all here, all together so you can settle your score with the UPF, while Ray and Misa may very well be dead. Enjoy it, prick."

Silence fell yet again over the group. Drayden looked Skyla in the eyes for a few moments before closing them, pondering.

"I'll speak to Mew about this when she returns."

"That's it? You have nothing to say to me, or Axle?"

"Why would I? I haven't lied to either of you."

Skyla sighed, standing and turning to leave. "Whatever."

Axle initially moved to follow her, but a glare from the young Gym Leader made him stop.

"I'm still mad at you."

He decided not to follow, allowing Skyla to disappear into one of the nearby tents. Reluctantly, he sat back down, eyes fixated on the ground lest he accidentally meet Drayden's or Vulcan's piercing gaze.

* * *

Jake could faintly hear something through the veil of unconsciousness. He grimaced, head panging.

" _Hey._ "

He tried opening his eyes, but felt his eyelids were much too heavy.

" _Get up. Now_ "

Something was wrong. Why had Jake been asleep during the middle of the day? The sun was beating down harder than he'd ever felt it in Unova. He fought through exhaustion in order to blink a few times. His vision was blurry, but it was oddly bright outside.

Something poked him. A claw? It wasn't applied with enough force to break the skin, but his shoulder hurt.

He pulled away, raising his hands to rub his eyes. After blinking a few more times, he made out the figure standing nearby.

" _Try running and I'll hunt you down. I won't be as gentle as last time._ "

Jake remembered in that instant what had happened. He tensed, looking for a way to escape. He promptly stopped, however, at the sight of Somin's claw.

He seemed to be in a densely forested area, foreign trees with bright, vibrant leaves sprouted up on all sides, one of which he was sat up against. Shrubbery was all over the ground, oftentimes in lieu of grass, replaced instead by a coarse, dirty sand. He couldn't make any sense of his surroundings, nor his situation.

He bit his lip, feeling tears of fear rising to his eyes.

"I d-didn't mean what I said earlier," he began, tripping over his words. "S-Somin, or Ray, or whoever you are, I'm sor-"

" _Don't worry about it._ "

Jake said nothing. Somin sat down, bored eyes focused on the frightened human.

" _Your Pokémon are safe, and so are you if you just chill for a bit. Chat with me._ "

The trainer gulped, nodding soon afterwards. Somin nodded back.

"W-Where…"

" _Hm?_ "

"Where are we? I-It's okay if you c-can't answer, I ge-"

" _Kalos. We're in Kalos._ "

"W-wow," he said, obviously forcing a reaction. "That's… Far."

Was Somin telling the truth? Jake couldn't think of any way they were somehow in Kalos. The air was humid, tropical even, nothing like Jake had ever heard a destination as far north as Kalos to be. Not to mention Kalos was, after all, all the way across the world.

"Jet, our Braviary teammate. He's really good at flying."

That much was obviously a complete lie. No flying type, let alone Jet, a still freshly-evolved Braviary, could fly all the way around the world in the time it'd taken Jake to wake up. Jake, though, was in no place to argue.

So, he said nothing, waiting for Somin to continue.

" _You know what you did for us to bring you here?_ "

"N-No… I just… I was just walking, an-"

" _You ran into someone I care about very much. And I don't like how you treated him. Not one bit._ "

Did Somin somehow know about the night Jake tried capturing the Zorua and Axew? He felt a shiver run down his spine as he saw the Zorua, shivering cold in his mind's eye.

"Oh gods…"

" _You know the one?_ "

"S-Somin… You are Somin, right?"

" _Always was._ "

"Look, I… I really didn't mean. I-I thought about how maybe the Zorua and Axew were the same ones that showed up with Drayden in Opelucid, but… I didn't know! I didn't think it-"

" _Relax._ "

Somin yawned deliberately at that moment, making sure Jake got full view of his teeth. He smacked his chomps soon afterwards, smirking in delight at the trainer's obvious discomfort at the notion.

" _Can't say I appreciate you trying to catch them. I get being a trainer, sure, but that Zorua is very special to me. Do you know why?_ "

A flurry of emotions hit Jake at that moment. He shifted uncomfortably, refusing to meet Somin's gaze.

"Your… Son…"

Jake's voice cracked with the words, positively terrified. Somin's smile disappeared as his eyes narrowed.

"Oh gods, I'm sorry. I'm so so so so so sorry. Plea-"

" _Not gonna hurt you as long as you play nice. We all make mistakes._ _What's important is that you make up for it, right?_ "

Jake said nothing, dreading what the Zoroark was insinuating.

"I'm sorry," he restated, whimpering. "I-I didn't know."

" _Well, now you know._ "

Somin stood and turned his back to the kid, rummaging through what Jake recognized to be his own pack. After taking a few seconds, Somin turned back around, tossing a few objects at him. He wasn't able to catch them all at once, but he instantly recognized the Pokéballs of his team.

" _Now, boundaries,_ " Somin pointed to his right, hardly bothering to even give Jake a glance. " _Over there is a cliff, don't go walking off of it unless you want to drown in the ocean._ "

Pointing to his left, he continued. " _Back there is a small waterfall. There's fresh water for you and your team, as well as a few Berry bushes if you're hungry. Don't eat the pink ones, they sure ain't Pecha._ "

" _Back there,_ " he said, pointing behind Jake, " _there's a fallen tree, and over there, a big 'ol boulder. Can't miss it._ "

By the time he finished, Somin was pointing directly in front of Jake. The boy didn't make sense of anything Somin had said, but felt as if the weight of the situation was crushing him.

" _Those are your four boundaries, go outside them and you're fair game,_ " Somin said matter-of-factly, smirking. " _And when I say game, I mean game. Been a while since I've hunted as something as big as you, might be a little bit rusty._ "

The words sent a chill down Jake's spine. He nodded quickly, looking at his own, curled-up legs as Somin took a step to leave.

" _Think over it all for a little bit, and I'll be back later. Do whatever the hell you want until then, but I'd set up your tent if I were you. Tends to get a little rainy here during the day._ "

Jake nodded quickly, refusing to meet Somin's gaze. His lip was starting to bleed from how hard he was biting down.

His tent had been stolen a couple weeks back.

Somin left, sighing to himself. He couldn't help but feel bad for the young trainer; he hadn't wanted any of this, after all. He himself had been not only been confused at the news Mew had opted not to erase his memory of their encounter, but at the suggestion the trainer be taken back to their hideout in Kanto.

And yet, in her usual fashion, she up and disappeared as soon as her, Vita, Somin, and the boy had all been brought back to Kanto. It seemed she wanted to see if she could track Ray from where the boy's Pokénav had last seen him, but if her absence for the remainder of the Kantonian night had been any indication, a full day's search in Unova had turned up fruitless.

Somin hoped to find her mulling about the camp. The trainer was a liability, and taking him to Kanto for no reason other than to 'keep an eye on him' was frightening. Somin being forced to put on a show of strength in order to apply pressure meant the boy's actions would certainly be unpredictable.

Jet knew the island better than anybody at the camp, with the exception of Mew, so Somin had consulted him on a good place to stash the boy until the Zoroark knew how to deal with him.

The Braviary himself showed soon after, gliding down from a nearby palm tree to land on a boulder near Somin.

"So we're just glorified babysitters now?"

"Shut up."

Somin continued onwards, prompting Jet to follow along, gliding between spots he could stop to speak.

"You did a good job, I guess. Kid seemed terrified, but for what? Did Mew even tell you why she didn't just erase his memories and leave him in Unova?"

"No clue. I'm hoping she's back at camp so she can tell me… We all probably need to talk, anyways."

"About?"

Somin huffed, confused.

"She said something when we were looking for Ray that worried me. Something about how the legendaries disappearing are going to start having major consequences, and how reviving Reshiram to help take down the UPF should be a priority…"

Jet looked at Somin with eyes full of skepticism.

"Is she losing it?"

"No."

"The hell do you mean by 'consequences', anyways? And what are we supposed to do about it? You saw how badly she got beat back in Opelucid. She thinks we can fight Alder?"

"That's why we're all gonna talk, to get on the same page. You're asking me like I know the answers to any of this."

"Whatever," Jet said, rolling his eyes. "Do me a favor and have this little 'meeting', or whatever, by the lake. I'll be waiting there."

"What's wrong with just coming back to the camp? I know Drayden isn't exactly the best, but isn't this the kind of information everyone should know?"

"I… No. No, I don't think so."

Somin stopped to stare at Jet scrutinously. The Braviary had his head down, averting Somin's gaze.

"It's Skyla, isn't it?"

"You can't say shit about wanting to avoid Skyla, hypocrite. It's my business."

"Yeah, but you can't let your grudge work against the team here, Jet. I thought you'd finally gotten over that whole 'she gave me up' vendetta."

"Oh, like how your grudge against Mew ended up leading us to get captured? Somin, I'm doing enough by sharing an island with her. If I don't want to see her, I won't see her. It's as simple as that."

Somin scratched his snout before carrying on, knowing his words wouldn't do much to sway Jet.

"Ray worked out, didn't he? Just because Skyla gave him your egg doesn't mean she 'didn't want' you."

"It's not like that!"

"It sure as hell sounds like it."

Jet said nothing, letting a scowl take his face before he took off.

"By the lake. With the team. Nobody else."

Somin couldn't help but scoff as the Braviary disappeared from sight. He figured Jet's outrage with Skyla would've been more justified had he been a lot younger, but he was now three years old.

Skyla had given Ray Jet's egg as a gift during his campaign at her Gym in Mistralton. He was the son of her own Braviary, and for the longest time resented Skyla for the fact. Most of the reason, admittedly, came from the turbulent atmosphere, just before Sierra's death, in which he'd been born.

Sentiment against Skyla was at its peak after Sierra was killed. Somin and Ray often perpetuated the idea Skyla's suggestion to go see Ray's family had lead to Sierra's death. Jet quickly caught on to this sentiment, and he grew to resent Skyla entirely.

Somin still blamed Skyla, if only a little. There was no way the Gym Leader could've known what would happen, but Ray went against his better judgement to steer clear of Black City, all because of her assurance 'everything would be okay'.

Jet still held his resentment, much more than anyone still did. Somin had always thought it was because of the same concerns he'd had when he was younger about her 'giving him up', but there had to be something more to it. Jet wouldn't sink so low as to avoid Skyla entirely for a reason so petty, so far into the past.

He supposed, however, there were more important things to worry about at the moment, like why they'd just kidnapped a child and brought him around the world.

After about another minute of walking he'd made it back to camp. Vita and Victor, still not having adjusted to the jet-lag, were snoozing in the shade of the early-morning sun, while Axle sat, face cast downwards, next to a dead fire. Vulcan, sitting nearby, eyed Somin cautiously.

He could pick out Skyla's scent, and narrowed down her location to a nearby tent, likely sleeping as well.

"Where's everyone else?" he asked Axle, shifting forwards and taking a seat next to the Swampert.

"H-huh?" he asked, jolting up. He'd evidently been half-asleep. "O-oh, Somin. How long've you been here?"

"A few hours. Mew went AWOL again and we've got a bit of a problem… Kinda wanted to talk with her and you guys about it."

"Problem?"

Both sets of eyes turned to Vulcan as he forced his way into the conversation.

"Nothing important," Somin lied, turning back to Axle. "You seen her anywhere?"

"Uh… Don't think so. I've been here since, like, last night… Haven't seen her."

"She came about a half hour ago, Drayden requested to speak with her."

Axle and Somin turned towards Vulcan once again, silent.

"Your Swampert friend was asleep," the Haxorus continued, monotone. "The two of them went off together somewhere else on the island. Alone."

"I thought Mr. Dragonpet would've stayed by his master's side no matter what," Somin sneered.

Vulcan's tail swayed at the remark. He retained composure, however, saying, "Mew did not want a third party, and Drayden agreed. I'm no more a pet to my trainer than you are to yours."

"Sure buddy," Somin said, turning away from the Haxorus yet again to address Axle. "Any food leftover, by chance?"

"Yeah… It's a bit old, but should be good," Axle said, motioning towards the nearby carcass of a Doduo. Somin couldn't even initially find the fatal wound, the slice running the length of skin between its heads so clean blood hardly even stained the feathers.

"Vulcan and Victor have been doing most of the hunting so far, so you can thank them for that. Knew you liked your meat uncooked so we left that for you, or Jet, whenver he decides to come back."

Somin nodded in Axle's direction, taking a few steps towards the neatly-killed Pokémon. "I just saw him a bit ago. Has he not been staying around camp?"

"I mean… You know Jet. He's hardly ever sticks around since he evolved. Now that he can fly a lot farther and longer, it's kinda like we're holding him back."

"Do you know something we don't?"

"W-what?" Axle said, flustered. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Does Jet not want to be part of the team anymore? That's what I mean. Can't imagine he'd talk to you about it in secret, but you seem like you know more than I do."

"N-no… Not as far as I know, anyways. He wanted to go to Hoenn and do the Gym Challenge there, didn't he? Why, did he tell _you_ something?"

"Was just curious," Somin concluded, turning his focus to the Doduo. He noticed Vulcan was staring at him with scrutiny, but he wouldn't let the Haxorus get under his skin. There were more important things to think about at the moment, including Mew's vague indication of inevitable danger should events continue on their present course.

* * *

"Skyla came to me and said she'd seen what you're trying to describe."

Mew sighed, averting her eyes.

" _Yeah… I didn't mean to scare her. Haven't really ever had a reason to practice against emulating my emotions, it just kinda happens._ "

"Vicus didn't often share with me the intricacies of how the Primes governed the universe. What does Giratina's disappearance mean _exactly_ for the future of our world?"

" _Think of the Reverse World like a central hub for all the dimensions governed by Palkia, but a hub nobody's allowed to enter unless they die. If the Reverse World falls, dimensions start colliding and collapsing and then suddenly, we're all goners._ "

"And how long do we have to stop the UPF before this happens?"

Mew was surprised at Drayden's calmness regarding the situation. As much as she hated the human sitting on the sand a few feet away from her, she couldn't help but feel some sense of respect. The gentle lap of the waves against the beach almost gave the air an ambience of a casual encounter.

" _Obviously, they either tricked Giratina into capturing him or found a way to enter the Reverse World to follow his escape attempt. Palkia is trying her best to hold everything together right now, so that gives us a good bit of time, but if the UPF actually did find a way to enter the Reverse World, then, well… The second they nab Palkia it's game over. Unless Arceus comes to save the day, you can't take two from the Creation Trio and expect reality to still exist._ "

"The odds of Arceus coming?"

" _To be honest, pretty high. I don't want to have to rely on him if we don't absolutely, 100,000% need him, but I don't think he'd just let the universe fall apart. He's the sorry asshole who made it, after all. Even if everyone says otherwise, I'm still sticking by my belief it's literally impossible to trap something like him. He bends reality to fit his will. That's just how it works…_ "

"I'm sure your judgement has been crystal clear," Drayden jabbed, scowling. Mew chose to let the comment pass, taking a deep breath. "In any case, is that not a reason to at least give me my power back? We need to prepare, no?"

" _Prepare for what?_ " Mew scoffed. " _Running into whatever the hell's going down in Unova is suicide. This ain't like your little escapade however many decades ago. It took nearly your entire team to take down a single Entei, and what Alder's got now between Giratina and some of the other missing Primes like Regigigas and Ho-oh, it's on a whole 'nother level._ "

Drayden closed his eyes in frustration. "Even so. I need to be able to speak with my team. I hate to ask you, Mew, but you're my only hope in that regard."

" _You don't get it, do you? Even if I could, I wouldn't just to punish you for putting me in a ball._ "

Drayden opened his mouth to protest, but was promptly interrupted.

" _I don't wanna hear yada yada about how 'we needed you to listen' because it's bullshit. I'm a mind reader. I can hear what you told Skyla and Axle earlier. How you called Ray incompetent. How do you expect me to give you_ _ **my**_ _power if you're just speaking behind my back about stuff like that?_ "

"You've made it quite obvious you yourself don't listen to reason, so I was hoping Ray's Pokémon would make you. Albeit, my words came out rather harsh, but we aren't going to make any progress if we aren't honest."

" _Well then, here's a bit of honesty for ya. You're_ _ **never**_ _getting any of my power. You haven't earned it._ "

Drayden wanted to say something about Ray's apparent 'earning' of Mew's power, but opted to keep his mouth shut. Mew saw what he was going to say anyways, a thought sitting at the forefront of his mind.

" _Ray's gone through so much more than what you can possibly imagine. What did you do for Reshiram's favor but grovel at his feet? Hm,_ _ **notail**_ _?"_

"Get out of my mind."

" _Notail… That's actually a good one. The little Axew with no tail. Or scales. Or power. Just some useless hands instead of claws. He can't hunt. He can't even eat raw meat. Is he even a dragon?_ "

Memories flashed in Drayden's mind's eye, prompting Mew to smile a wicked smile. It contrasted sharply from the look of pure rage on Drayden's face.

" _Just figure out how to get Reshiram back faster, and I'll go around and find who I can from the remaining Primes. Call it the alliance you always wanted. The sooner we work this out, the better."_

With that, she popped out of existence, leaving Drayden, hardly able to stand, alone to find his own way back to the camp.

* * *

"Drink."

I was given almost no warning as what I tasted to be ice-cold water ran down my tongue and the back of my throat. I cared not from where it was coming, but focused what little consciousness I had on gulping down as much as I could. It'd been so long since I'd last had a drink.

I couldn't move. Not that I wanted to, anyways. Everything was much too sore.

I heard what I thought to be two voices conversing, but couldn't quite make out every word. I was still half-asleep.

Something scooped me up from underneath, leaving my cold body suspended in the air for only a short moment longer before I was in a world of warmth. It flooded around me on all sides, overloading my nose with an unrecognizable mix of smells. I opened my eyes, half-lidded, only to find I was surrounded entirely by blackness.

"Hey, you okay, kid?"

Was that Misa? I didn't bother responding, letting the bliss of the warmth take me once more into unconsciousness.

The last thing I felt was the gentle bob of movement as I was carried away.

* * *

 **I'm alive.**

 **I wanted to get this chapter out before the New Year, but the interim course I was taking at the time had other plans for me.**

 **I wouldn't call college more busy than completely motivation-sucking. I just haven't exactly found the motivation to sit and dedicate myself to writing for long periods of time, partly because of the slow pace of this chapter. I wanted to establish certain character dynamics in order to flesh them out to their fullest as I move on with Act III.**

 **In any case, there's really not much else to say except that I have a new story posted.**

 **I explain a lot in the opening author's note of that fic regarding both it and SaC. I still wish to prioritize SaC, as I've made much more of a commitment to it, but this new fic is a project I hope to follow through with, as it's a concept I've had a lot of fun imagining. Please go show it a bit of love, or hate, or whatever you think is best to help it, and me, grow as a story and author.**

 **Believe that's it. Go check out 'Your Great Kingdom' over on my profile!**

 **Cheers!**


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